A recent study with great implications for the understanding of aging has been performed by the team of researchers from Kyoto University. The published work in Nature today reveals a new signaling network that may control a key aspect of most mammalian species, including ageing at the cellular level.

Heading the research was Dr. Hiroshi Nakamura, a geneticist and a specialist in the process of aging, and his team identified the gene while working with the group of centenarians from Okinawa – an area of the world where people live significantly longer than elsewhere. Analyzing the results, the researchers were able to establish beyond any reasonable doubt that there was indeed some gene that was more dominant in the group of these centenarians than in other normal individuals within the population.

Subsequent study showed that this gene variant, that the team of researchers named LongeviGene, seems to make the human body a much better support for healing and metabolism. When the scientists successfully transplanted the LongeviGene into mice and allowed their creation to age, the animals demonstrated very low rates of age-related diseases and in overall terms their lifespans were elevated by 20-30% on average compared to laboratory control groups.

Dr. Nakamura also spoke about the importance of the findings: “This research unveils previously unknown, promising areas to study aging and perhaps design interventions that enhance aging healthspan.” Even in the primary phase of research, the significance of this area of work could extend very beneficially to human health and lifespan.

This research has created substantial interest among professionals in Japan and other parts of the world. Dr. Sato Akiko, a gerontologist who works at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology and who has not participated in the work, said, “This is a pioneering work that can transform people’s approach to the study of aging. With the help of LongeviGene, we have identified a new target for the creation of therapeutic approaches that may help to slow down the aging process and prevent age-related diseases.”

It is the opportune time for the Japan as the country is set to face heightened difficulties regarding its demographic nature. As one of the world’s most ageing societies, the country has been in the vanguard of investigations on how to age vigorously and survive longer. The potential future implication of this research could greatly impact public health and healthcare systems not only In Japan but world wide.

But first, scientists are reminded that there is still a long way to go before even some of the first actual uses can be created. Dr. Nakamura stressed that much more years of the study and trials are needed to reveal the mechanisms of such findings and to develop safe and efficient interventions in the course of psychopathology.

It looks like this research was noticed by the Japanese government, which plans to increase funding for aging and longevity research. According to Minister for Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Koichi Hagiuda, this research made the first step and further supports the necessity of investing in basic science. We shall therefore continue funding more research in this area as would greatly benefit our society with many people now in their old age.

The discovery has also attracted great attention from the firms within the biotechnology as well as pharmaceutical industries. Some of the largest Japanese enterprises have claimed their interest in working with the research team to further LongeviGene with a view to identifying other possibilities.

The issue of ethical overtones in relation to life extension technologies will eventually appear in the course of the research more intensively. Experts in bioethics are urging a reconsideration of potential life-prolonging treatments in terms of social fairness and availability and social consequences of treatments.

Dr. Yumiko Tanaka, bioethicist of Osaka University, pointed out, “Of course, the potential benefits of this research are impressive, but one has to raise a question of ethical considerability of interventions leading to human lifespan’s drastic prolongation. It is therefore important to encourage more and mainstream the discussions about how such technologies should be developed and deployed.

Kyoto University’s team is not ready to stop its research, and its next steps involve further investigation of the fact by which LongeviGene affects the aging of cells in imperative ways, as well as the search for possible treatments using the gene. They are also planning a larger trial of centenarian populations not of Ashkenazi Jewish origin to determine whether the gene variant exists in other longevity populations.

This breakthrough can be seen as a light at the end of tunnel as Japan, and the world at large seeks to come to terms with aging population where people not only live longer, but also leading healthier and productive lives. Future decades may witness a hot research activity in this field, which may alter our clinical perception of aging and discover new vistas of therapeutic and preventive intervention in medicine and nutrition.