Small molecule reduces signs of aging in mice

Telomeres, posted at the edges of chromosomes, protect DNA from damage. The telomerase enzyme helps maintain the length and integrity of telomeres and acts as an aging regulator. Researchers have now found a new small molecule that restores telomerase levels and reverses hallmarks of aging in elderly mice. One of the main components of telomerase is a donut-shaped protein subunit called telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) . The gene that produces TERT gets turned off as people age, leading to lower levels of functional telomerase in the body. Many labs have tried to design therapeutics that turn the TERT gene back on. Scientists found that activating the TERT gene lengthened telomeres in proliferative tissue cells. What's more, they discovered that activating the gene ameliorated signs of aging in cells that had not synthesized telomeres. This finding suggested that TERT was responsible for regulating genes involved in aging independently of its traditional