Gene regulation study finds coordination between basic cellular processes is lost with age

The regulation of genes in our cells, that is, the decision to produce the proteins needed for various processes in the cell, is tightly regulated. It was long thought that this regulation deteriorated with age. But until now, it was not known exactly how the regulation of individual processes, and especially the coordination between them, changed.

Professor Andreas Beyer and his team from CECAD (Cluster of Excellence for Aging Research) at the University of Cologne have now shown, using a mathematical model, that the regulation of genes involved in the same process in the cell changes relatively little over the course of a person’s life. However, the coordination between the different cellular processes becomes less and less effective. The study is published under the title “Loss of coordination between basic cellular processes in human aging” in Aging of nature.

The scientists analyzed age-related changes in gene regulation in eight different human tissue samples aged 20 to 80 years, for which they compiled several thousand data sets from three different databases. By applying their model to these data, they investigated the extent to which the gene regulatory network changes during aging. Surprisingly, they found that the control of most genes does not deteriorate with age.

“Our results show how important it is not only to study individual genes and their effect on aging, but also to step back and look at the interaction and communication between different processes,” said first author Dr. Ana Carolina Leote.

Professor Beyer sums up the results: “Aging affects the entire cell. To really understand these changes, we need to analyze all genes simultaneously using computer models that we apply to large data sets.”

The team then wants to generate such models for the proteins encoded in the genes. This is a much more complex task, because several different proteins can be made from a single gene.