Scientific breakthrough for University of Cyprus researchers

 

Researchers at the University of Cyprus have identified an enzyme that controls ageing, it was announced on Wednesday.

“The results are expected to be used to develop specialised medicines to slow down ageing and increase a healthy life expectancy, thereby addressing diseases associated with ageing such as cancer and heart disease,” the university stated on Wednesday after announcing the breakthrough.

University of Cyprus associate professor Antonis Kyrmizi
University of Cyprus associate professor Antonis Kyrmizi

“Previous studies have shown that eating foods with fewer calories slows ageing and increases longevity,” said assistant professor Antonis Kyrmizi who led the research team.

“It remained, however, unknown how biological mechanisms signal to the cells to use caloric restriction to provide beneficial effects.”

The researchers at the department of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus used yeast as an experimental model. This showed that the new enzyme (Nat4/Naa40) acts as a regulator of the effects of a low calorie diet on cells, in this way determining life expectancy.

The inhibition of the functioning of this enzyme allows the assertion of genes which increase the cells’ resistance to various forms of stress and prevents the accumulation of damage which prevents the good functioning of the body.

Researcher Vasia Schiza
Researcher Vasia Schiza

The research was conducted primarily by postdoctoral researcher Diego Molina-Serrano and his doctoral student Vasia Schiza under the guidance of Antonis Kyrmizi in collaboration with researchers from universities in the United States, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

The results have been published in the prestigious international journal EMBO Reports.

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