It has actually long been known that while extremely low temperatures can be hazardous to organisms, a moderate decrease in body temperature level can have extremely positive impacts. A lower body temperature lengthens the longevity of cold-blooded animals like worms, flies, or fish, whose body temperature changes with the temperature of the environment. The nematode lives much longer if it is moved from the basic temperature level of 20 degrees Celsius to a colder temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. While a severe drop in body temperature below 35 degrees leads to hypothermia, human body temperature varies a little throughout the day and even reaches a cool 36 degrees throughout sleep. Interestingly, a previous study reported that human body temperature level has actually steadily decreased by 0.03 degrees Celsius per years since the Industrial Revolution, suggesting a possible link to the progressive increase in human life span over the last 160 years.
Cold temperatures trigger a cellular cleaning system that breaks down faulty protein aggregations: Expression of PSME3 in germline, nerve cells, and gut of nematode. Credit: David Vilchez and Hyun Ju Lee
More precisely, the scientists explored the effect of cold on the activity of proteasomes, a cellular system that removes damaged proteins from cells. The research study exposed that the proteasome activator PA28γ/ PSME3 alleviated the deficits triggered by aging in both the nematode and in the human cells. In both cases, it was possible to trigger proteasome activity through a moderate decrease in temperature.
” Taken together, these results reveal how throughout development, cold has preserved its influence on proteasome regulation– with restorative ramifications for aging and aging-associated diseases,” said Professor Vilchez.
Aging is a major threat aspect for several neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein aggregation, including Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Huntingtons, and ALS. Vilchez included: “We believe that these results may be used to other age-related neurodegenerative diseases along with to other animal types.” A key finding was that the proteasome activity can also be increased by genetic overexpression of the activator.
That way, disease-causing proteins can be eliminated even at the regular body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. These outcomes may supply therapeutic targets for aging and aging-associated diseases.
It has long been understood that while very low temperature levels can be harmful to organisms, a moderate decrease in body temperature level can have really favorable effects. A lower body temperature prolongs the longevity of cold-blooded animals like worms, flies, or fish, whose body temperature level changes with the temperature of the environment. The same phenomenon also applies to mammals, who keep their body temperature level within a narrow variety no matter how cold or warm their environment is.
For instance, the nematode lives a lot longer if it is moved from the basic temperature level of 20 degrees Celsius to a chillier temperature of 15 degrees Celsius. And in mice, a small reduction in body temperature level of simply 0.5 degrees considerably extends their life expectancy. This supports the assumption that temperature reduction plays a central role in longevity in the animal kingdom and is a well-conserved evolutionary mechanism.
While an intense drop in body temperature below 35 degrees leads to hypothermia, human body temperature level fluctuates slightly during the day and even reaches a cool 36 degrees throughout sleep. Surprisingly, a previous research study reported that human body temperature level has steadily declined by 0.03 degrees Celsius per decade because the Industrial Revolution, recommending a possible link to the progressive increase in human life expectancy over the last 160 years.
Recommendation: “Cold temperature level extends longevity and avoids disease-related protein aggregation through PA28γ-induced proteasomes” by Hyun Ju Lee, Hafiza Alirzayeva, Seda Koyuncu, Amirabbas Rueber, Alireza Noormohammadi and David Vilchez, 3 April 2023, Nature Aging.DOI: 10.1038/ s43587-023-00383-4.
The research was carried out at the University of Colognes CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research.
Cold temperature levels activate a cellular cleansing mechanism that breaks down hazardous protein aggregations related to aging and age-related illness. Scientists at the University of Cologne found that a moderate reduction in temperature activated proteasome activity, which eliminated damaging protein deposits connected to neurodegenerative illness like ALS and Huntingtons, in nematodes and human cells.
Cold temperature levels set off a cellular cleansing process that takes apart unsafe protein clumps, which are accountable for numerous age-related diseases. Recent research study on various design organisms has actually likewise exposed that minimizing body temperature level results in a substantial boost in lifespan.
Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms behind this process remain unclear in numerous elements. Now, a research study group at the University of Colognes CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research has recently uncovered one of these systems. Their findings were just recently published in the journal Nature Aging.
Both diseases are defined by accumulations of harmful and damaging protein deposits– so-called pathological protein aggregations. In both design organisms, cold actively removed the protein clumps, thus avoiding the protein aggregation that is pathological in both ALS and Huntingtons illness.