On pg. 183-184, Dr. Moalem discusses Hutchinson-Gilford
progeria syndrome and how it is caused. This relates to Big Idea 3 (Living
systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life
processes), since progeria is caused by incorrect “information” in DNA.
Specifically, progeria is caused when cells do not produce the correct form of
the protein lamin A.
On pg. 191-192, Dr. Moalem also talks about an experiment that reversed cellular damage caused by progeria and how this relates to the normal human aging process.
On pg. 191-192, Dr. Moalem also talks about an experiment that reversed cellular damage caused by progeria and how this relates to the normal human aging process.
Explain the function of lamin A and explain the mutation that causes progeria. Explain how this causes progeria on a cellular level. Next, briefly explain the experiment on pg. 191-192 or find another advance in treating progeria and explain that (cite source). Discuss the implications of the experiment (or one that you find) for treating progeria and the implications for the human aging process. How could the information gained from studying progeria be applied to normal aging? What are possible consequences (positive and negative) of experimenting with reversing the aging process? Explain.
(Sanika Bhargaw -- sbharga4@students.d125.org)
Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome is a rare genetic disease that causes premature aging in young kids. Progeria is caused by a mutation in the gene called LMNA. LMNA codes for the protein lamin-A, which is responsible for the structural support of the cell’s nucleus. When lamin-A is first translated, it has a farnesyl group attached to its end. In a normal cell, this farnesyl group is removed from the lamin A, and the lamin A does not anchor to the nuclear rim. This results in a normal state of the cell nucleus. However, in someone with progeria, the farnesyl group is not removed from the lamin A, and it remains anchored to the nuclear rim. This abnormal form of lamin A is called progerin. This results in an unstable state of the cell.
ReplyDeleteFrom page 191-192, Dr. Moalem briefly discusses an experiment in which researchers “demonstrated that it [was] possible to reverse the cellular damage caused by progeria” (191). They were able to do this by repairing damaged progeria cells and eliminate the defective lamin A (progerin). After one week, over 90% of the damaged progeria cells looked like normal healthy cells. The implications of this experiment are huge. Scientists in the future could be able to cure progeria. To add to this, if this knowledge could be applied to other body cells, it could help cure many other diseases. For example, if scientists could cure defective red blood cells, disorders such as anemia and hemochromatosis could be cured. Also, this experiment provides optimism in the field of cancer. A way of reversing aging is by turning aging mechanisms off- one of them being telomerase. Telomerase “catalyzes the lengthening of telomeres […] thus restoring their original length and compensating for the shortening that occurs during DNA replication” (Campbell, 319). By turning telomerase “off”, cancer cells would be unable to make themselves immortal, as the number of times the cells could divide would be limited. This in turn could lead to huge breakthroughs in curing cancer. This relates to big idea 3 as telomerase "responds to information essential to life processes" (life processes in this case is referring to mitotic cell divisions).
One obvious positive consequence of experimenting with reversing the aging process would be longer life spans. Also, not only those suffering from Progeria would be cured. This could also provide the tools and knowledge necessary for treating adults who suffer from heart disease and stroke associated with the natural aging process. ¹One negative consequence of reversing the aging process is that people may begin to abuse this science. By this, I mean that people might begin to rely on the science of reversing the aging process to correct the effects of their bad habits. For example, someone who smokes or eats a very unhealthy diet could depend on this science instead of learning to live healthier lifestyles.
1. http://www.progeriaresearch.org/progeria_101.html
(Sarah Terwilliger, sterwil3@students.d125.org)