Protein turnover may be useful marker of aging

It may seem paradoxical, but studying what goes wrong in rare diseases can provide useful insights into normal health. Probing the premature aging disorder Hutchinson-Gilford progeria, Salk Vice President, Chief Science Officer and Professor Martin Hetzer and Staff Scientist Abby Buchwalter have uncovered an errant protein process in the disease that could help healthy people as well as progeria sufferers live longer. When a cell devotes too much time to protein production, other important functions may be neglected. The work, described in Nature Communications on August 30, 2017, adds to a growing body of evidence that reducing protein synthesis can extend lifespan—and thus may offer a useful therapeutic target to counter both premature and normal aging.