[Age-Dependent Approach to Search for Genetic Variants Associated with Myocardial Infarction]

Myocardial infarction (MI), one of the most common manifestations of cardiovascular system aging, is often fatal. The vast majority of studies on genetic susceptibility to age-dependent diseases are carried out using the case-control study design. However, its use involves a number of difficulties, most of which arise when establishing the control group of relatively healthy individuals. In this work, survival functions were analyzed for carriers of alternative polymorphic variants of 18 genes that had been tested for association with MI using the case-control approach in our previous study, and the magnitude of the shift in the age of the disease onset depending on individual variations of the genome was estimated. The following risk variants were associated with the age of MI: rs2430561*A of IFNG (HR = 1.3, P = 0.043), rs1799889*5 of PAI-1 (HR = 1.3, P = 0.039), rs1800896*GG of IL10 (HR = 1.5, P = 0.0048), rs1800471*C of TGFB1 (HR = 1.5, P = 0.043), and rs11614913*TT of MIR196A2 (HR = 1.5, P = 0.035). In carriers of these variants, the disease developed 3-6 years earlier than in carriers of alternative variants. The results of this study were compared with data on the associations with MI previously obtained on the same sample using the case-control approach. It turned out that the estimates based on the two methods mostly disagreed. However, the age-dependent approach relies on fewer assumptions that can be additionally verified. In our opinion, it makes this approach more promising than the case-control design.

[Key Molecular Mechanisms of Aging, Biomarkers, and Potential Interventions]

The mechanisms of aging are described at the molecular, cell, tissue, and systemic levels. Primary age-dependent molecular lesions activate the cell stress response to compensate for the resulting defects, but the mechanisms that recover and maintain homeostasis are gradually deteriorated. When the amount of errors reaches a critical threshold in regulatory networks, a phase transition from health to disease occurs at the systemic level. The review considers the approaches to quantitative assessment of the aging process (biomarkers of aging) and promising interventions to slow down the aging process and to reduce the risk of age-dependent diseases.

[Mitochondrial DNA copy number of leucocytes as ageing marker and risk factors for age-related diseases in human.]

We used quantitative real-time PCR method to analyse mtDNA copy number in a random subsample (n=996; 358 men aged 66,31±7,24 years; 468 women aged 67,62±7,1 years) selected from a population cohort (n=9 630) examined at baseline in international project HAPIEE in Novosibirsk, Russia, in 2003-2005. The participants were re-examined after 12 years in 2015-2017. The average relative number of mtDNA copies in peripheral blood leukocytes was greater in women than in men, independently of age and smoking (p=0,001). mtDNA copy number was inversely correlated with age both in men (p=0,005) and women (p<0,001). In age adjusted analysis, mtDNA copy number was inversely associated with waist, hip and heart rate in both sexes. In addition, mtDNA copy number in women was inversely associated with triglycerides and glucose, aterogenity index and positively with HDL cholesterol. In men, mtDNA copy number was positively associated with physical activity. The age-adjusted mean of mtDNA copy number among male never-smokers was greater than in smokers (p=0,003), and the mean mtDNA copy number was lower in women with diabetes than in women without diabetes (p=0,005). In both sexes, subjects with baseline history of hypertension had lower mtDNA copy number after 12-year follow-up than those without hypertension (p=0,05). This broadly supports the hypothesis that mtDNA copy number may act as biomarker of ageing.

AUTEN-67, an autophagy-enhancing drug candidate with potent antiaging and neuroprotective effects

Autophagy is a major molecular mechanism that eliminates cellular damage in eukaryotic organisms. Basal levels of autophagy are required for maintaining cellular homeostasis and functioning. Defects in the autophagic process are implicated in the development of various age-dependent pathologies including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as in accelerated aging. Genetic activation of autophagy has been shown to retard the accumulation of damaged cytoplasmic constituents, delay the incidence of age-dependent diseases, and extend life span in genetic models. This implies that autophagy serves as a therapeutic target in treating such pathologies. Although several autophagy-inducing chemical agents have been identified, the majority of them operate upstream of the core autophagic process, thereby exerting undesired side effects. Here, we screened a small-molecule library for specific inhibitors of MTMR14, a myotubularin-related phosphatase antagonizing the formation of autophagic membrane structures, and isolated AUTEN-67 (autophagy enhancer-67) that significantly increases autophagic flux in cell lines and in vivo models. AUTEN-67 promotes longevity and protects neurons from undergoing stress-induced cell death. It also restores nesting behavior in a murine model of Alzheimer disease, without apparent side effects. Thus, AUTEN-67 is a potent drug candidate for treating autophagy-related diseases.