Mother's Genes Impact the Aging Process: DNA May Reveal How Old We Look

As the years pass us by, we grow and age. Our cells change and become damaged, leaving us with wrinkles and other age-related signs. Now, scientists have discovered that aging is not only determined by the accumulation of changes during our lifetime but also from the genes we acquire from our mothers.

There are several accumulated signs of aging, including the impairment of the function of bodily organs. Yet of particular importance in aging are the changes that occur in the mitochondrion, the cell's power plant. This structure generates most of the cell's supply of ATP, which is used as a source of chemical energy.

"The mitochondria contains their own DNA, which changes more than the DNA in the nucleus, and this has a significant impact on the aging process," said Nils-Goran Larsson, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Many mutations in the mitochondria gradually disable the cell's energy production."

In order to examine aging a bit more closely, the researchers took a look at DNA. They found that the aging process is influenced not only by the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA damage during a person's lifetime, but also by the inherited DNA from our mothers. More specifically, if we inherit mDNA with mutations from our mother, we age more quickly.

Both normal and damaged DNA is passed down between generations. This damaged DNA, though, seems to influence aging. Yet researchers still aren't sure whether it's possible to affect the degree of mDNA damage through lifestyle intervention.

"Our findings can shed more light on the aging process and prove that the mitochondria play a key part in aging; they also show that it's important to reduce the number of mutations," said Larsson in a news release.

That's not the only thing that these findings show, though. They also suggest that therapeutic interventions that target mitochondrial function could influence how fast we age. These treatments can include dietary manipulations and drugs that could potentially up-regulate mitochondrial function or reduce mitochondrial toxicity.

Currently, though, the researchers need to investigate this aging process a bit further. They plan to investigate whether reducing the amount of mutation can extend the lifespans of both mice and fruit flies.

The findings are published in the journal Nature.