Low temperatures may not warm the body, but they may extend life. Previous research indicates several reasons for this interesting phenomenon. Scientists from the University of Cologne in Germany conducted experiments on worms to determine another possible cause for this phenomenon, and found that cold removes damaged proteins from cells.
According to research, many of the neurodegenerative diseases that affect the brain as we age, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, are linked to the buildup of harmful proteins, so figuring out how temperature affects this process is an important step forward in finding a way to slow or stop this deterioration. .
Exposure to cold seems like an unlikely treatment option at the moment, so understanding how cold temperatures work could help us mimic them with targeted therapies.
As the researchers state in their published paper, they said: "Extremely low temperatures are harmful, but moderate decreases in temperature may have beneficial effects on organisms."
And they added, "Although medical reports that we received more than a century ago indicate that low temperatures have a positive effect on longevity, we have not yet been able to know how it positively affects longevity and health."
The researchers conducted experiments on the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, and on human cells grown in the laboratory. They found that colder temperatures removed protein clumps that had accumulated in animal models, in cell models of ALS, and in Huntington's disease.
The process is carried out by structures called proteasomes that break down waste proteins, especially the vermiform version of the proteasome activator PA28y/PSME3 found in humans; It only took a moderate drop in temperature that would have activated the activator and cleaned up potentially dangerous protein buildup.
The team also discovered that clever genetic engineering could increase the activity of the proteasome, achieving the same effect without cooling. Thus increasing the possibility of therapies that may maintain the functioning of proteasomal activators regardless of body temperature.
"Together, these results demonstrate how, during evolution, cold preserved its influence on proteosome regulation, as well as its therapeutic effects on aging and related diseases," said biologist David Welches from the University of Cologne in Germany.
“It's an exciting finding, you might not think it, but C. elegans has a lot in common with humans, including the way that proteins might clump together; The worm is often used in research because we share some important genetic similarities with it.”
There is still a lot to be learned about the relationship between cold temperatures and aging. For example, the average human internal temperature has decreased steadily over decades, which may have an effect on life expectancy.
The researchers hope to take a detailed look at exactly what this connection is based on, that the proteasome activator PA28γ/PSME3 is a healthy way to slow down aging.
"We believe that our findings can be applied to other age-related neurodegenerative diseases, as well as to other animal species," Vilches said in a paper published in the journal Nature Aging.