A Swedish research suggests mothers play an important role in the early ageing of their offsprings.
Researchers at Karolinska Institute, Sweden, found that mutations in mother mice resulted in age-related problems in their offspring. They found that damage to mitochondrial DNA, that is passed down from mothers, leads to ageing more than mutations in the cell's nucleus.
"If we inherit mDNA with mutations from our mother, we age more quickly," said lead study author, Professor Nils-Goran Larsson.
The researchers said that mitochondrion operate as tiny power plants, breaking down nutrients and providing a cell with most of its chemical energy. It is different from the nucleus that acts like the brain of the cell and contains most of its DNA.
"Many mutations in the mitochondria gradually disable the cell's energy production." Contrary to previous findings, not only mutations that accumulate during lifetime play a role: "Surprisingly, we discovered that our mother's mitochondrial DNA seems to influence our own ageing," says James Stewart, a researcher in Larsson's department.
"These findings also suggest that therapeutic interventions that target mitochondrial function may influence the time course of aging," said Barry Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., a co-author of the study from the Department of Neurosurgery. "There are various dietary manipulations and drugs that can up-regulate mitochondrial function and/or reduce mitochondrial toxicity. An example would be antioxidants. This mouse model would be a 'platform' to test these drugs/diets."
The mitochondria DNA is inherited through the maternal genes and as the molecules in the mitochondria mutate independently, good and bad DNA cells are passed on. Researchers found the DNA in mitochondria changes randomly as cells reproduce than the DNA in the nucleus. The mutated mitochondrial DNA aids in early ageing and also hinders development.
"Our findings can shed more light on the aging process and prove that the mitochondria play a key part in aging," Larsson said. "They show that it's important to reduce the number of mutations."
The findings were reported in the current issue of the journal 'Nature.'
