Scientists step nearer to explaining why our bodies age

The research from Newcastle University will give experts an insight into how cancer cells escape ageing to wreak their destructive power.

The ageing process is rooted within cells and molecules that make up our bodies, and using sophisticated laboratory techniques and mathematical models, scientists have identified the molecular pathway that reacts to cell damage and normally stops them from dividing.

That led the researchers to discover the problem of why cells age, giving hope for better treatments for illnesses such as diabetes or heart disease.

The research, published in the journal Molecular Systems Biology, found the precise molecular pathway that reacts to internal signals that a cell is in trouble because of damage to its DNA and how it then responds by triggering a managed shutdown of the cell's ability to divide.

This results in the loss of the cells' ability to support tissue regeneration and repair, which gradually leads to the physical signs of ageing, as more and more cells suffer the same fate. Damaged cells are also stopped from becoming cancerous.

Professor Thomas von Zglinicki, who led the research, said: "There are some real possibilities for this research.

"The next stage would be to develop drugs which can be used to target these molecules to help us combat many age-related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease where cell ageing plays an important part.

"For many years scientists around the world have struggled to understand the complex factors that cause cells to stop dividing as they get older.

"Now that we know the precise pathway that is involved, it becomes feasible to begin to think about how it can be modified to improve ageing without increasing the risk of cancer," he said.

"It is absolutely essential to tread carefully in trying to alter processes that cause cells to age, because the last thing we want is to help age-damaged cells from breaking out to become malignant."

Prof Tom Kirkwood, director of ageing and health at Newcastle University, said: "What is so exciting about this discovery is that it shows the power of 'systems biology'.

"There is no way that this advance could have been made without combining the expertise of experimental biologists, mathematicians and computer scientists."