Clue to Anti-aging
Dr. Jang Ik-soon at the Korea Basic Science Institute and professor Yeo Eui-ju at the Medical School of Gacheon University announced on February 23 that they found PPKO (phenyl 2-pyridyl ketoxime), a compound that accelerates aging, in an extracellular matrix surrounding an old fibroblast and defined the mechanism of the material.
According to them, the material increases the amounts of active oxygen and nitric oxide, two of the main culprits of cellular senescence, and the number of young cells can be increased when the generation of active oxygen and nitric oxide caused by PPKO is blocked in old cells.
The researchers cultivated young and old cells, analyzed the respective extracellular matrixes on the surfaces of culture dishes with a gas chromatography mass spectrometry system, and confirmed that the old cells have more PPKO. In addition, they conducted a cell experiment and found that PPKO leads to an increase in the amount of active oxygen while inducing the generation of nitrogen monoxide.
“Although we have yet to find out how to remove the PPKO, we reached a conclusion that rapid aging can be prevented and cells can become younger when the PPKO is blocked,” said Dr. Jang Ik-soon. “We succeeded in finding this new senescence accelerator by making use of the advanced research equipment and analysis techniques of the Korea Basic Science Institute,” professor Yeo Eui-ju added, continuing, “The outcome of this research is expected to be applicable in the field of cellular senescence control and the like.” Details of their research are available on the official website of the Aging Cell journal.