MONTREAL—Researchers have found a link between the rise in age-related diseases and the overconsumption of sugar, which may open the door to new therapeutic strategies for fighting age-related diseases.
According to a study published in the journal PLoS Genetics, Université de Montréal scientists have discovered that it's not sugar itself that is important in this process, but the ability of cells to sense its presence.
As part of the PLoS Genetics study, Université de Montréal Biochemistry Professor Luis Rokeach and his student Antoine Roux discovered that if they removed the gene for a glucose sensor from yeast cells, mice lived just as long as those living on a glucose-restricted diet.
The research team used yeast as a model organism, as yeast cells are similar to and age much like human cells. They found that the lifespan of yeast cells increased when glucose was decreased from their diet. They then asked whether the increase in lifespan was due to cells decreasing their ability to produce energy or to the decrease in signal to the cells by the glucose sensor. The scientists found that cells unable to consume glucose as energy source are still sensitive to the pro-aging effects of glucose. Conversely, obliterating the sensor that measures the levels of glucose significantly increased lifespan.
