High levels of a toxic chemical in the body has been identified as a possible reason people age, leading scientists believe.
Formaldehyde is best known as an embalming agent but it has recently been found to be naturally made by cells. Now, a study has also shown it causes ageing.
It is hoped that because scientists have identified the specific chemical responsible for the process that a drug could one day be developed to halt the march of Father Time.
Researchers from Cornell, Oxford, Cambridge and Cancer Research UK are currently trying to find out exactly what leads to high levels of formaldehyde production and if there are any drugs that may be able to lower levels.
‘One of the potential causes’
Prof Meng Wang, a haematology expert who led the work while at Cambridge and who is now at Cornell, said: “We believe we have pinned down one of the potential causes of natural ageing.
“This potentially could lead to a therapy to slow down natural ageing-related decline.”
Scientists recently discovered a new disease, called “Adds”, which affects less than one in a million people and leads to blood cancer in patients who have a genetic mutation that leaves them unable to remove formaldehyde from their system.
They found cells naturally make formaldehyde that damages DNA by latching on to the genetic material and stopping it from functioning properly, thus speeding up ageing.
Prof Wang investigated the nefarious impact of formaldehyde further and switched off the two mechanisms that flush out formaldehyde in mice.
‘Triggered response’
Analysis revealed the blood stem cells of these formaldehyde-riddled animals looked two years old when the animals were just eight weeks old.
“We found the ageing of blood stem cells is very much a triggered response in response to the DNA damage from formaldehyde,” he said.
Prof Wang added the team is now working to find out what specific pathways produce the toxic chemical, and if any interventions can be discovered to help the body remove or destroy it.
The study, published in Cell Metabolism, was only able to look for signs of ageing in blood but the scientists suspect accelerated ageing also occurs in other organs.
The team is now also investigating if formaldehyde production is affected by food or other lifestyle factors and if drugs can be created to stop it accumulating.
“These will have clear therapeutic implications and if it’s simply in terms of modulating diet, then I think everyone has a stake in the game,” Prof Wang said.
‘Clear link’
He stressed that it is unlikely that formaldehyde alone causes the entire process of ageing, but there is a clear link between the two.
“I don’t think it will ever be the case where if we remove formaldehyde we completely stop ageing because there’ll be other similar chemicals that will also be contributing to this,” said Prof Wang.
“But I do think this shows that our bodies are making definable and measurable chemicals that we can track that lead to big problems, like ageing.”
Work is ongoing to see if other chemicals influence ageing in the same way as formaldehyde, and the key for scientists then, Prof Wang said, is to find a way to stop them “accumulating and elevating”.
