Pointing the Finger at Mitochondria Again
You may be familiar with the mitochondrial free radical theory of aging - that accumulated damage to mitochondrial DNA provides a strong contribution to age-related degeneration. A little more contributory evidence here: "we have used a systems biology approach to study the molecular basis of aging of the mouse heart. We have identified eight protein spots whose expression is up-regulated due to aging and 36 protein spots whose expression is down-regulated due to aging ... Among the up-regulated proteins, we have characterized five protein spots and two of them, containing three different enzymes, are mitochondrial proteins. Among the down-regulated proteins, we have characterized 27 protein spots and 16 of them are mitochondrial proteins. Mitochondrial damage is believed to be a key factor in the aging process. Our current study provides molecular evidence at the level of the proteome for the alteration of structural and functional parameters of the mitochondria that contribute to impaired activity of the mouse heart due to aging." Aging is the chain of events resulting from important changes in biochemistry - the more we know about those changes, the better placed we are to reverse them.