Cigarette smoke provokes a defect in the cell structure seen in people with Werner's syndrome - a rare genetic disease that leads to rapid aging of the body. Smoking accelerates the aging process, bringing death closer to 10 years ahead of schedule.
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Smoking accelerates the aging process[/caption]Today, researchers found the key to solving this problem, which shed new light on new treatments. The idea is that smokers are not the only people who are aging quickly. At the age of 20, people with a rare genetic disorder called Werner's syndrome, turn gray, have thin skin and a hoarse voice. Soon, cataracts, diabetes, arteriosclerosis and fragility of bones develop. In 40-50 years they die from heart disease and cancer.
Smokers are also prone to heart disease and cancer. Perhaps there is a connection? Yes, Iowa University researchers Toru Nunoya, a doctor of medicine and his colleagues agree. Werner's syndrome is caused by mutations of a gene called the Werner syndrome protein. The gene produces a protein that protects and restores every cell of the body.
Nunoa and his colleagues selected lung smokers with a diagnosis of emphysema. As expected, the cells contained a very small amount of this protein. The genes of smokers turned out to be normal, but for a number of reasons they did not produce protein, which protects and restores the cells of the body. When the researchers grew lung cells in the laboratory, they concluded that the cigarette smoke extract reduces the production of this protein and helps to accelerate their aging. Cells that were genetically engineered to produce this protein, did not succumb to the action of nicotine.
"Our research shows that when developing the treatment of smoking-related illnesses, for example, emphysema, you should remember the protein of Werner's syndrome," Nunoa said in the newsletter. The results of the study are published in the 6th issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Reanimation Medicine.