eLife: Scientists discover new clues to aging in mitochondria

A common feature of many age-related diseases is the beginning of problems with the mitochondria of cel.

Corresponding author Dr Chuankai Zhou from the Buck Institute on Aging said: "We now have different hypotheses about why mitochondria malfunction during aging and age-related diseas.

Mitochondria are often referred to as the cell's "powerhouse" because this broad bean-like structure provides the energy the cell needs to functi.

The research team led by Zhou wanted to understand how mitochondrial biogenesis affects this dysfuncti.

Specifically, mitochondrial biogenesis involves two steps: transcriptional activation of mitochondrial proteins in the nucleus, and introduction of newly synthesized mitochondrial proteins into mitochondria from the cytopla.

Previous studies have found that Tom70 can promote the introduction of newly synthesized mitochondrial proteins into mitochondr.

In this study, the research team used yeast as a model to examine whether Tom70 regulates mitochondrial biogenes.

"Our study found that the Tom70 molecule is coordinating these two aspects, linking two separate areas of research," Zhou sa.

The researchers also found that boosting levels of Tom70 in yeast delayed mitochondrial dysfunction and increased lifesp.

These results point to a new direction for aging research, Zhou sa.

Original text retrieval

Qingqing LiuCatherine E ChangAlexandra C WooldredgeBenjamin FongBrian K KennedyChuankai Zhou (2022) Tom70-based transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and aging eLife 11:e7565