Here's a report from www.sciencedaily.com yesterday. Notice how the
scientists talks about how SOD gets turned on by the gene they
discovered. I've been criticized for saying that the evidence suggests
that old people who are in excellent health have low SOD and high
vitamin E, whereas middle age people in poor shape have low E and high
SOD levels. This report is confirmatory, in that when the body is
stressed by lipid peroxidation, for example, an attempt is made to
produce more SOD, but if not enough of the trace mineral, in this case
manganese, is present, massive damage will likely occur. Having to
produce more SOD is a burden, but even worse is that it only leads to a
less dangerous radical, thus there will still be more free radical
damage than is necessary.
My interpretations are based on the most reasonable way to look at the
evidence, and many scientists share these ideas, though a lot of them
don't understand how dangerous the highly unsaturated oils can be,
because specialization means that they only read a small percentage of
the studies that are relevant, and most don't have much of a background
in nutrition.
Also yesterday on sciencedaily.com was a report there was a report
about CLA, which is trans fat found naturally in dairy products that
has antioxidant properties. Why? Because saturated fatty acids
interfere with free radical reactions.
Here's a quotation from that report:
Cook's team determined that one of the variants [of CLA] inhibits the
COX-2 protein by blocking a key cellular pathway. The COX-2 protein is
known to play a significant role in many inflammatory diseases and is
an important drug target for treating arthritis and cancer, Cook says.
But with no arachidonic acid in your body, there's no COX-2.
Another quotation is interested, because it bespeaks of the problem
that often occurs when there is excess biochemical activity:
"In animal agriculture, you can see as much as a five to ten percent
difference in weight at a given age in a growing animal because a
secondary effect of immune response is that it suppresses growth," Cook
says. The immune system protects the body by fighting disease, but the
defense comes at a price, Cook says, including inflammation, muscle
wasting and loss of appetite.
The title of that report is "A Fatty Acid Found In Milk May Help
Control Inflammatory Diseases."
Remember, without excess arachidonic acid in your body, there is no
problem with "inflammation."
11/8/2005
Anti-aging Hormone Reduces Reactive Oxygen Species
Scientists recently discovered an anti-aging hormone called Klotho.
Now, a new study shows that this protein acts by increasing the cell's
ability to detoxify harmful reactive oxygen species. The research
appears as the "Paper of the Week" in the November 11 issue of the
Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology journal.
The klotho gene named after the Greek goddess who spins life's thread,
is associated with preventing aging in mammals. The klotho gene
product, or Klotho protein, is secreted in the blood and functions as
an anti-aging hormone. A defect in the klotho gene in mice leads to a
syndrome closely resembling human aging, while overexpression of the
gene extends lifespan in mice.
Now Makoto Kuro-o, assistant professor of pathology at the University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, has discovered one way
in which Klotho extends lifespan. Using both cultured cells and
transgenic mice, the researchers showed that Klotho increases
resistance to oxidative stress.
"Increased longevity is always associated with increased resistance to
oxidative stress," explains Kuro-o. "Oxidative stress causes the
accumulation of oxidative damage to important biological macromolecules
such as DNA, lipids, and proteins that would result in functional
deterioration of the cell, which eventually causes aging."
"In this study," says Kuro-o, "we propose that Klotho does its job by
increasing the ability of the cell to detoxify harmful reactive oxygen
species, thereby increasing resistance to oxidative stress of the
body." The protein acts by turning on an enzyme called manganese
superoxide dismutase. This enzyme, found in the mitochondria of the
cell, then hydrolyzes harmful superoxide into less harmful hydrogen
peroxide.
This research may eventually lead to the development of anti-aging
drugs, a long-standing goal of many pharmaceutical companies. "We
showed that the anti-aging hormone Klotho confers resistance to
oxidative stress in cells and animals," says Kuro-o. "This means that
Klotho protein itself or small molecule mimetics may be potentially
useful as anti-aging medicines."