Lower temperatures may not warm your heart, but they could make you live longer.
past research has some reasons suggested behind this fascinating phenomenon. Now, in experiments on worms, scientists at the University of Cologne have identified another possible reason: cold drives a process through which damaged proteins are removed from the cells.
Several neurodegenerative diseases that can spread with age – including Alzheimer And Parkinson’s – are linked to the accumulation of bad proteins, so discovering how temperature affects this process is a significant step forward in finding ways to potentially slow or even stop this deterioration.
While sitting around in the cold It is unlikely to be a therapeutic option any time soon. Understanding how processes triggered by cold temperatures work could help us replicate them through the use of targeted treatments.
“Extremely low temperatures are harmful, but a moderate drop in body temperature can have a positive effect on the organism,” write the researchers in their published work.
“Although the effects of low temperatures on longevity were reported more than a century ago, little is known about how cold temperatures affect longevity and health.”
The researchers performed tests on that Caenorhabditis elegans Worm and on cultured human cells in the lab, noting that colder temperatures resulted in the removal of clumps of proteins that accumulate in animal and cellular models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington’s disease.
This has been accomplished by structures called proteasomes that break down protein waste, and specifically the worm version of the PA28γ/PSME3 proteasome activator found in humans. It only took a moderate drop in temperature to get the activator to work and eliminate potentially dangerous protein build-ups.
The team also found that a bit of clever genetic engineering could dial in proteasome activity and get the same result without refrigeration. This raises the possibility of treatments that could keep these proteasome activators functioning regardless of body temperature.
“Taken together, these results demonstrate how cold has retained its impact on proteasome regulation throughout evolution – with therapeutic implications for aging and age-related diseases,” says Biologist David Vilchez from the University of Cologne in Germany.
It’s an exciting realization: you might not believe it, but C. elegans has a lot in common with humans, including the way proteins can clump together (the worm is often used in research because we share some important genetic similarities).
Much remains to be discovered about the connection between colder temperatures and aging. The average human internal body temperature is steadily declining over the decades, which may have influenced increases in life expectancy, for example.
By taking a much closer and more detailed look at exactly what underpins this relationship, the researchers hope that the proteasome activator PA28γ/PSME3 could be a pathway to healthier aging.
“We believe these results can be applied to other age-related neurodegenerative diseases as well as to other animal species,” says vilchez
The research was published in aging in nature.
