According to a study published in Nature, titled Genetic variation in glia–neuron signalling modulates ageing rate, the genetic variation of a newly discovered signaling pathway affects the aging rate of Caenorhabditis elegans brings new insights into understanding the biological basis of healthy aging.
The world's population is rapidly aging, and age is a major risk factor for diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, so it is important to understand health aging. The genetic basis of our highly variable aging rate is difficult to determine. The results of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that C. elegans not only has different life spans, but also has differences in age-related mating ability, feeding and exercise. The authors identified naturally occurring mutations in the rgba-1 and npr-28 genes that appear to regulate the age-related mating ability of these nematodes.
These findings suggest that genetic variation regulates age-dependent senescence in nematodes and identifies a neuropeptide signaling pathway that links glial cells to dopaminergic neurons and serotonergic neurons. As for whether neuropeptides play a similar role in regulating human life, more in-depth research is needed to determine.
