人们一直在寻找能延长寿命的物质，英国《自然》杂志网站刊登一项最新研究说，一种常被用作染色素的物质可能具有这种效果。对线虫的实验显示，这种物质可以将其寿命平均延长60%。
美国和瑞典研究人员报告说，生物的机体组织之所以衰老，常常是因为一些已经变形而变得有害的蛋白质堆积而引起，比如老年痴呆症就是由贝塔淀粉样蛋白的堆积引起。在相关研究中，人们常用一种名为“硫黄素T”或“碱性黄1”的染色素对贝塔淀粉样蛋白等蛋白质着色，以帮助观察。
研究发现，如果对线虫使用一定量的这种染色素，可以大幅延长其寿命。在对比实验中，未使用这种染色素的线虫在20天内全部死亡，而使用这种染色素的大部分线虫在20天后还活着。
研究人员推测说，这可能是因为这种染色素能够提醒机体组织这些有害蛋白质的存在，从而触发机体自身排除有害蛋白质的机制，降低有害蛋白质的含量。因此，如果能在此基础上研发出适用于人类的药物，也许可以帮助人类延长寿命。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Nature doi:10.1038/nature09873
Amyloid-binding compounds maintain protein homeostasis during ageing and extend lifespan
Silvestre Alavez,1 Maithili C. Vantipalli,1 David J. S. Zucker,1, 2 Ida M. Klang1, 3 & Gordon J. Lithgow1
Genetic studies indicate that protein homeostasis is a major contributor to metazoan longevity1. Collapse of protein homeostasis results in protein misfolding cascades and the accumulation of insoluble protein fibrils and aggregates, such as amyloids2. A group of small molecules, traditionally used in histopathology to stain amyloid in tissues, bind protein fibrils and slow aggregation in vitro and in cell culture3, 4. We proposed that treating animals with such compounds would promote protein homeostasis in vivo and increase longevity. Here we show that exposure of adult Caenorhabditis elegans to the amyloid-binding dye Thioflavin T (ThT) resulted in a profoundly extended lifespan and slowed ageing. ThT also suppressed pathological features of mutant metastable proteins and human β-amyloid-associated toxicity. These beneficial effects of ThT depend on the protein homeostasis network regulator heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1), the stress resistance and longevity transcription factor SKN-1, molecular chaperones, autophagy and proteosomal functions. Our results demonstrate that pharmacological maintenance of the protein homeostatic network has a profound impact on ageing rates, prompting the development of novel therapeutic interventions against ageing and age-related diseases.
