TEDGlobal 2011
Cynthia Kenyon: Experiments that hint of longer lives
Cynthia Kenyon: Indicii catre o viata mai lunga
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Ce controleaza imbatranirea? Biochimista Cynthia Kenyon a gasit o mutatie genetica care dubleaza speranta de viata a viermelui C. elegans. Invatamintele obtinute in urma acestei descoperiri si a altora, ne indica cum vom putea intr-o buna zi sa extindem semnificativ anii tineretii la oameni.
Cynthia Kenyon - Biochemist, geneticist
When it comes to aging well, having “good genes” (or rather, mutant ones) is key, says Cynthia Kenyon. She unlocked the genetic secret of longevity in roundworms — and now she’s working to do the same for humans. Full bio
When it comes to aging well, having “good genes” (or rather, mutant ones) is key, says Cynthia Kenyon. She unlocked the genetic secret of longevity in roundworms — and now she’s working to do the same for humans. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Have you ever wanted to stay young a little longer
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Ai dorit vreodata sa ramai tanar inca putin?
00:18
and put off aging?
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si sa amani batrinetea?
00:20
This is a dream of the ages.
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Acesta este un vis din vechime.
00:23
But scientists have for a long time
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Dar oamenii de stiinta au crezut pentru mult timp
00:25
thought this just was never going to be possible.
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ca acest lucru nu va fi niciodata posibil
00:27
They thought you just wear out, there's nothing you can do about it --
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Au crezut ca pur si simplu ne uzam si ca nu avem ce face --
00:30
kind of like an old shoe.
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la fel ca in cazul unui pantof vechi
00:32
But if you look in nature,
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Dar daca te uiti in natura,
00:34
you see that different kinds of animals
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vei vedea ca diferite tipuri de animale
00:36
can have really different lifespans.
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pot avea sperante de viata foarte diferite.
00:38
Now these animals are different from one another,
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Aceste animale sunt diferite unele fata de altele,
00:40
because they have different genes.
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deoarece au gene diferite
00:42
So that suggests
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Aceasta sugereaza
00:44
that somewhere in these genes, somewhere in the DNA,
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ca, printre aceste gene, undeva in ADN-ul lor
00:46
are genes for aging,
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se gasesc genele responsabile cu imbatrinirea,
00:48
genes that allow them to have different lifespans.
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gene care determina ca speranta lor de viata sa fie diferita.
00:50
So if there are genes like that,
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Deci daca exista astfel de gene,
00:52
then you can imagine that,
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atunci iti poti imagina ca
00:54
if you could change one of the genes in an experiment,
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daca ai putea modifica o astfel de gena intr-un experiment,
00:56
an aging gene,
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o gena responsabila de imbatrinire,
00:58
maybe you could slow down aging and extend lifespan.
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poate ca atunci ai putea sa incetinesti imbatrinirea si ai putea mari speranta de viata.
01:01
And if you could do that, then you could find the genes for aging.
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Si daca ai putea face asta, atunci ai putea descoperi genele imbatranirii.
01:04
And if they exist and you can find them,
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Si daca acestea exista si le-ai putea gasi,
01:06
then maybe one could eventually do something about it.
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atunci poate ai putea face ceva in aceasta privinta.
01:09
So we've set out to look for genes that control aging.
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Astfel am inceput sa cautam genele care controleaza imbatrinirea.
01:12
And we didn't study any of these animals.
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Nu am studiat nici unul dintre aceste animale.
01:15
Instead, we studied a little, tiny, round worm called C. elegans,
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In schimb am studiat un mic vierme cilindric numit C. elegans,
01:18
which is just about the size of a comma in a sentence.
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care este de dimensiunea unei virgule.
01:21
And we were really optimistic that we could find something
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Eram foarte optimisti ca vom gasi ce cautam
01:24
because there had been a report of a long-lived mutant.
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deoarece exista un articol despre un mutant longeviv.
01:27
So we started to change genes at random,
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Astfel am inceput sa modificam gene la intamplare,
01:29
looking for long-lived animals.
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cautand exemplare longevive.
01:31
And we were very lucky to find
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Si am fost norocosi sa gasim ca,
01:33
that mutations that damage one single gene called daf-2
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mutatii care afectau o gena numita daf-2,
01:37
doubled the lifespan of the little worm.
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dublau speranta de viata a micutului vierme.
01:40
So you can see in black, after a month --
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Deci dupa cu vedeti cu negru, dupa o luna;
01:42
they're very short-lived; that's why we like to study them
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acesti viermi traiesc foarte putin si de aceea ne place
01:44
for studies of aging --
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sa-i folosim in studierea imbatranirii;
01:46
in black, after a month, the normal worms are all dead.
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cu negru, dupa o luna, viermii normali erau morti cu totii.
01:49
But at that time,
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Dar la acelasi moment,
01:51
most of the mutant worms are still alive.
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cei mai multi mutanti erau inca in viata.
01:53
And it isn't until twice as long
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Si doar dupa o perioada dubla de timp
01:55
that they're all dead.
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erau morti cu totii.
01:57
And now I want to show what they actually look like in this movie here.
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Iar acum vreau sa va arat in acest film cum arata acesti viermi.
02:00
So the first thing you're going to see
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Primul lucru pe care-l veti vedea
02:02
is the normal worm
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este viermele normal
02:04
when it's about college student age -- a young adult.
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in jurul varstei studentiei, un adult tanar.
02:07
It's quite a cute little fellow.
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Este un micut destul de dragut.
02:10
And next you're going to see the long-lived mutant when it's young.
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Iar acum veti vedea mutantul logeviv la tinerete.
02:13
So this animal is going to live twice as long.
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Deci acest exemplar va trai de doua ori mai mult.
02:15
Is it miserable? It doesn't seem to be.
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Este nefericit? Nu pare a fi.
02:17
It's active. You can't tell the difference really.
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Este activ. Nu poti face diferenta intre ei.
02:20
And they can be completely fertile --
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Si sunt la fel de fertili,
02:22
have the same number of progeny as the normal worms do.
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avand acelasi numar de urmasi ca si viermii normali.
02:24
Now get out your handkerchiefs here.
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Acum scoateti batistele.
02:26
You're going to see, in just two weeks,
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Veti vedea ca in doar doua saptamani,
02:28
the normal worms are old.
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viermii normali sunt batrani.
02:30
You can see the little head moving down at the bottom there.
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Ii puteti vedea caputul miscandu-se in partea de jos.
02:33
But everything else is just lying there.
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Dar restul corpului pur si simplu zace acolo.
02:35
The animal's clearly in the nursing home.
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Acest exemplar este clar la azil.
02:37
And if you look at the tissues of the animal, they're starting to deteriorate.
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De asemenea, puteti vedea ca tesuturile au inceput sa se deterioreze.
02:40
You know, even if you've never seen one of these little C. elegans --
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Chiar daca nu ati vazut niciodata un astfel de vierme,
02:42
which probably most of you haven't seen one --
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ceea ce este adevarat pentru majoritatea dintre voi,
02:44
you can tell they're old -- isn't that interesting?
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va puteti da seama ca sunt batrani; interesant nu-i asa?
02:47
So there's something about aging that's kind of universal.
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Deci imbatrinirea este ceva universal.
02:50
And now here is the daf-2 mutant.
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Iar acesta este cel gena daf-2 modificata.
02:53
One gene is changed out of 20,000, and look at it.
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O gena din 20,000 este modificata si uitati-va la el.
02:55
It's the same age, but it's not in the nursing home;
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Este la aceeasi varsta, dar nu este la azil,
02:58
it's going skiing.
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ci schiaza.
03:01
This is what's really cool: it's aging more slowly.
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Cu adevarat remarcabil este ca imbatraneste mai incet.
03:04
It takes this worm two days
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Ii ia acestui vierme doua zile
03:06
to age as much as the normal worm ages in one day.
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sa imbatraneasca la fel de mult ca celui normal intr-o zi.
03:08
And when I tell people about this,
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Iar cand le spun oamenilor despre acest lucru,
03:10
they tend to think of maybe an 80 or 90 year-old person
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ei se gandesc la un batran de 80 sau 90 de ani
03:14
who looks really good for being 90 or 80.
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care arata prea bine sa fie de 80 sau 90 de ani.
03:16
But it's really more like this:
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Dar este mai degraba asa:
03:18
let's say you're a 30 year-old guy -- or in your 30s --
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sa zicem ca esti un barbat de 30 sau de maxim 40 de ani
03:21
and you're a bachelor and you're dating people.
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si ca esti burlac si te duci la intalniri.
03:23
And you meet someone you really like, you get to know her.
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Si intalnesti pe cineva care-ti place cu adevarat si vrei sa o cunosti mai bine.
03:26
And you're in a restaurant, and you say, "Well how old are you?"
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Si esti intr-un restaurant si intrebi: "Ei bine, cati ani ai?"
03:29
She says, "I'm 60."
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Si ea spune: "am 60 de ani"
03:31
That's what it's like. And you would never know.
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Cam despre asta este vorba.
03:33
You would never know, until she told you.
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Nu nu ai putea sa stii,
03:35
(Laughter)
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pana nu ti-ar spune.
03:39
Okay.
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In regula.
03:41
So what is the daf-2 gene?
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Deci ce este gena daf-2?
03:43
Well as you know, genes, which are part of the DNA,
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Dupa cum stiti, genele sunt parte a ADN-ului
03:45
they're instructions to make a protein that does something.
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si reprezinta intructiuni de a fabrica o proteina cu o anumita functie.
03:48
And the daf-2 gene
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Iar gena daf-2
03:50
encodes a hormone receptor.
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codeaza un receptor hormonal.
03:52
So what you see in the picture there
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Deci ceea ce vedeti in imagine
03:54
is a cell with a hormone receptor in red
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este o celula cu un receptor hormonal, reprezentat cu rosu,
03:56
punching through the edge of the cell.
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care strapunge membrana celulara.
03:58
So part of it is like a baseball glove.
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Deci o parte a lui este ca o manusa de baseball.
04:00
Part of it's on the outside,
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Aceasta parte a lui din exterior,
04:02
and it's catching the hormone as it comes by in green.
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prinde hormonul in trecere, reprezentat cu verde.
04:04
And the other part is on the inside
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Iar cealalta parte este in interior
04:06
where it sends signals into the cell.
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si transmite semnale in celula.
04:08
Okay, so what is the daf-2 receptor
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Deci ce anume spune receptorul daf-2
04:10
telling the inside of the cell?
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interiorului celulei?
04:12
I just told you that, if you make a mutation in the daf-2 gene cell,
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Tocmai v-am spus ca daca realizezi o mutatie in gena daf-2,
04:15
that you get a receptor that doesn't work as well;
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si obtii un receptor care nu functioneaza la fel de bine,
04:17
the animal lives longer.
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atunci animalul traieste mai mult.
04:19
So that means that the normal function of this hormone receptor
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Asta insemna ca functia normala a acestui receptor hormonal
04:22
is to speed up aging.
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este de a accelera imbatranirea.
04:24
That's what that arrow means.
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Aceasta este semnificatia sagetii.
04:26
It speeds up aging. It makes it go faster.
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Ca accelereaza imbatranirea. O grabeste.
04:28
So it's like the animal has the grim reaper inside of itself,
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Ceea ce este similar cu a avea in corp pe
04:30
speeding up aging.
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doamna cu coasa, graband imbatranirea.
04:32
So this is altogether really, really interesting.
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Aceasta concluzie este foarte, foarte interesanta.
04:35
It says that aging is subject to control by the genes,
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Si ne spune ca imbatranirea este in parte controlata de gene,
04:38
and specifically by hormones.
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mai exact de hormoni.
04:41
So what kind of hormones are these?
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Despre ce fel de hormoni este vorba?
04:43
There's lots of hormones. There's testosterone, adrenalin.
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Exista o multime de hormoni, printre care testosteronul si adrenalina.
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You know about a lot of them.
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Cunoasteti multi astfel de hormoni.
04:47
These hormones are similar
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Acesti hormoni sunt similari
04:49
to hormones that we have in our bodies.
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cu cei pe care-i gasim in corpul omenesc.
04:51
The daf-2 hormone receptor
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Receptorul hormonal daf-2
04:53
is very similar to the receptor
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este foarte similar cu receptorul
04:55
for the hormone insulin and IGF-1.
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pentru insulina si IGF-1.
04:58
Now you've all heard of at least insulin.
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Cu totii am auzit cel putin de insulina.
05:00
Insulin is a hormone that promotes the uptake of nutrients
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Insulina este un hormon care stimuleaza asimilarea
05:03
into your tissues after you eat a meal.
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nutrientilor in tesuturi dupa masa.
05:05
And the hormone IGF-1 promotes growth.
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Iar hormonul IGF-1 stimuleaza cresterea.
05:08
So these functions were known for these hormones for a long time,
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Aceste functii erau cunoscute de mult,
05:11
but our studies suggested
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dar studiile noastre au sugerat
05:13
that maybe they had a third function that nobody knew about --
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ca acestia ar putea avea si o a treia functie,
05:15
maybe they also affect aging.
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legata de procesul de imbatranire.
05:17
And it's looking like that's the case.
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Si se pare ca asa este.
05:19
So after we made our discoveries with little C. elegans,
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Deci dupa ce am facut descoperirile noastre pe micul C. elegans,
05:22
people who worked on other kinds of animals
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cercetatori lucrand cu alte tipuri de animale
05:24
started asking, if we made the same daf-2 mutation,
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au inceput sa se intrebe daca nu cumva, realizand aceeasi mutatie
05:27
the hormone receptor mutation, in other animals,
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a receptorului hormonal daf-2 la alte animale,
05:30
will they live longer?
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acestea vor trai mai mult?
05:32
And that is the case in flies.
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Si s-a dovedit ca este valabil in cazul mustelor.
05:34
If you change this hormone pathway in flies, they live longer.
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Daca modifici acest traseu hormonal la muste, acestea traiesc mai mult.
05:37
And also in mice -- and mice are mammals like us.
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Si de asemenea la soareci, iar soarecii sunt mamifere ca si noi.
05:40
So it's an ancient pathway,
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Deci este vorba de un traseu foarte vechi,
05:42
because it must have arisen a long time ago in evolution
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care trebuie sa se fi manifestat acum foarte mult timp in evolutie
05:44
such that it still works in all these animals.
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ca sa fie inca activ in toate aceste animale.
05:47
And also, the common precursor also gave rise to people.
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De asemenea, acest stramos comun a dat nastere si oamenilor.
05:50
So maybe it's working in people the same way.
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Deci este posibil sa functioneze si la oameni in acelasi mod.
05:52
And there are hints of this.
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Exista indicii in acest sens.
05:54
So for example, there was one study that was done
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De exemplu, exista un studiu facut
05:56
in a population of Ashkenazi Jews in New York City.
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pe o populatie de evrei Ashkenazi din New York.
05:59
And just like any population,
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Si ca in orice alta populatie,
06:01
most of the people live to be about 70 or 80,
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cei mai multi traiesc pana la 70 - 80 de ani,
06:04
but some live to be 90 or 100.
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dar sunt unii care traiesc pana la 90 sau 100 de ani.
06:06
And what they found
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Si au descoperit
06:08
was that people who lived to 90 or 100
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ca oamenii care traiau pana la 90 - 100 de ani
06:11
were more likely to have daf-2 mutations --
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erau mai predispusi la mutatia genei daf-2,
06:14
that is, changes in the gene
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adica modificarea genei
06:16
that encodes the receptor for IGF-1.
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care codifica receptorul pentru IGF-1.
06:18
And these changes made the gene not act as well
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Iar aceste modificari faceau ca gena sa nu functioneze
06:23
as the normal gene would have acted.
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la fel de bine ca gena normala.
06:25
It damaged the gene.
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Avem de-a face cu o gena defecta.
06:27
So those are hints
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Deci aceste indicii
06:29
suggesting that humans are susceptible
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sugereaza ca oameni sunt susceptibili
06:31
to the effects of the hormones for aging.
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la efectele hormonilor asupra imbatranirii.
06:33
So the next question, of course, is:
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Deci urmatoarea intrebare este bineinteles:
06:35
Is there any effect on age-related disease?
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exista efecte asupra bolilor batranetii?
06:38
As you age, you're much more likely
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Odata cu anii, este mai probabil
06:40
to get cancer, Alzheimer's disease,
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sa faci cancer, Alzheimer,
06:42
heart disease, all sorts of diseases.
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boli ce inima, tot felul de boli.
06:44
It turns out that these long-lived mutants
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S-a dovedit ca acest mutanti longevivi
06:46
are more resistant to all these diseases.
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sunt mai rezistenti fata de toate aceste boli.
06:48
They hardly get cancer,
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Fac cancer in numar foarte mic,
06:50
and when they do it's not as severe.
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iar cand il fac nu este la fel de agresiv
06:52
So it's really interesting, and it makes sense in a way,
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Este foarte interesant si logic pana la urma,
06:54
that they're still young,
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avand in vedere ca sunt inca tineri,
06:56
so why would they be getting diseases of aging until their old?
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de ce sa sufere deja de bolile batranetii?
07:00
So it suggests
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Asta sugereaza
07:02
that, if we could have a therapeutic or a pill to take
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ca daca am avea un tratament sau o pastila
07:05
to replicate some of these effects in humans,
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care sa replice aceste efecte la oameni,
07:07
maybe we would have a way
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poate ca atunci am avea o cale
07:09
of combating lots of different age-related diseases
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de a combate o multime de afectiuni ale batranetii,
07:11
all at once.
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dintr-o data.
07:13
So how can a hormone ultimately affect the rate of aging?
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Cum ar putea un hormon sa afecteze imbatranirea?
07:15
How could that work?
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Care ar fi mecanismul?
07:17
Well it turns out that in the daf-2 mutants,
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Ei bine, se pare ca la mutantii daf-2,
07:20
a whole lot of genes are switched on in the DNA
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sunt activate in ADN foarte multe gene
07:23
that encode proteins that protect the cells and the tissues,
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care codifica proteine care protejeaza celulele, tesuturile
07:26
and repair damage.
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si care repara defectele.
07:28
And the way that they're switched on
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Iar activarea acestora
07:31
is by a gene regulator protein called FOXO.
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se face printr-un regulator proteic al genelor numit FOXO.
07:34
So in a daf-2 mutant --
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Deci la un mutant daf-2;
07:36
you see that I have the X drawn here through the receptor.
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dupa cum vedeti am taiat receptorul;
07:38
The receptor isn't working as well.
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receptorul nu functioneaza la fel de bine.
07:40
Under those conditions, the FOXO protein in blue
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In aceste conditii, FOXO proteina colorata cu albastru
07:43
has gone into the nucleus --
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a intrat in nucleul celulei,
07:45
that little compartment there in the middle of the cell --
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acel mic compartiment din mijlocul celulei,
07:47
and it's sitting down on a gene binding to it.
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si s-a legat de gena.
07:49
You see one gene. There are lots of genes actually that bind on FOXO.
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Vedeti o singura gena. Sunt multe gene care se leaga de FOXO.
07:51
And it's just sitting on one of them.
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Iar aceasta sta pe una dintre ele.
07:53
So FOXO turns on a lot of genes.
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Deci FOXO activeaza multe gene.
07:55
And the genes it turns on includes antioxidant genes,
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Printre care si genele antioxidante,
07:58
genes I call carrot-giver genes,
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gene pe care le numesc "datatoare de caroten",
08:00
whose protein products
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ale caror proteine
08:02
actually help other proteins to function well --
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ajuta alte proteine sa functioneze bine,
08:04
to fold correctly and function correctly.
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sa se asambleze corect si sa functioneze bine.
08:06
And it can also escort them to the garbage cans of the cell
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De asemenea le pot escorta la cosul de gunoi al celulei
08:09
and recycle them if they're damaged.
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pentru reciclare daca sunt defecte.
08:11
DNA repair genes
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Genele cu functie de reparare a ADN-ului
08:13
are more active in these animals.
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sunt mai active la aceste animale.
08:15
And the immune system is more active.
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Si sistemul imunitar este mai activ.
08:17
And many of these different genes, we've shown,
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Am aratat ca multe dintre aceste gene,
08:20
actually contribute to the long lifespan of the daf-2 mutant.
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contribuie la speranta de viata crescuta a mutantilor daf-2.
08:23
So it's really interesting.
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Este cu adevarat interesant ca,
08:25
These animals have within them
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aceste animale au in interiorul lor
08:27
the latent capacity to live much longer than they normally do.
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capacitatea latenta de a trai mult mai mult decat o fac de obicei.
08:30
They have the ability
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Au capacitatea de a se proteja
08:32
to protect themselves from many kinds of damage,
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de multe feluri de vatamari, ceea ce
08:34
which we think makes them live longer.
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ne face sa credem ca le ajuta sa traiasca mai mult.
08:37
So what about the normal worm?
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Ce se intampla la viermele normal?
08:39
Well when the daf-2 receptor is active,
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Ei bine, cand receptorul daf-2 este activ,
08:42
then it triggers a series of events
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declanseaza o succesiune de evenimente
08:44
that prevent FOXO
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care impiedica FOXO
08:46
from getting into the nucleus where the DNA is.
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sa intre in nucleu, acolo unde se afla ADN-ul.
08:49
So it can't turn the genes on.
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Deci acesta nu poate activa gene.
08:51
That's how it works. That's why we don't see the long lifespan,
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Asa functioneaza. De aceea nu vedem o speranta de viata crescuta,
08:53
until we have the daf-2 mutant.
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pana nu avem mutatia daf-2.
08:55
But what good is this for the worm?
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Dar cu ce ajuta asta pe vierme?
08:57
Well we think that insulin and IGF-1 hormones
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Noi credem ca insulina si IGF-1
09:00
are hormones that are particularly active
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sunt hormoni care sunt activi in mod special
09:02
under favorable conditions -- in the good times --
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in conditii favorabile, in vremuri bune,
09:04
when food is plentiful and there's not a lot of stress in the environment.
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cand mancarea este foarte disponibila si cand mediul nu este stresant.
09:07
Then they promote the uptake of nutrients.
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Atunci ei incurajeaza absorptia de nutrienti.
09:09
You can store the food, use it for energy,
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Poti stoca nutrientii si folosii pentru
09:12
grow, etc.
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energie, pentru crestere, etc.
09:14
But what we think is that, under conditions of stress,
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Iar noi credem ca in conditii de stres,
09:17
the levels of these hormones drop --
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nivelul acestor hormoni scade,
09:19
for example, having limited food supply.
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de exemplu cand mancarea este limitata.
09:22
And that, we think,
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Iar acest lucru, credem noi,
09:24
is registered by the animal as a danger signal,
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este interpretat de animal ca un semnal de alarma,
09:26
a signal that things are not okay
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un semnal ca lucrurile nu sunt in ordine
09:28
and that it should roll out its protective capacity.
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si ca trebuie sa activeze functiunile de conservare.
09:31
So it activates FOXO, FOXO goes to the DNA,
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Deci acesta activeaza FOXO, FOXO acceseaza ADN-ul,
09:34
and that triggers the expression of these genes
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si declanseaza exprimarea acelor gene
09:36
that improves the ability of the cell
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care imbunatatesc capacitatea celulei
09:38
to protect itself and repair itself.
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de a se proteja si repara.
09:40
And that's why we think the animals live longer.
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Si de aceea, credem noi, aceste animale traiesc mai mult.
09:42
So you can think of FOXO
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Deci te poti gandi la FOXO
09:44
as being like a building superintendent.
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ca la administratorul unei cladiri.
09:47
So maybe he's a little bit lazy,
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Poate ca este putin lenes,
09:49
but he's there, he's taking care of the building.
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dar este prezent si are grija de cladire.
09:51
But it's deteriorating.
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Aceasta se deterioreaza.
09:53
And then suddenly, he learns that there's going to be a hurricane.
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Si deodata, afla ca se pregateste un uragan.
09:56
So he doesn't actually do anything himself.
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El nu face nimic cu mana lui.
09:58
He gets on the telephone --
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Pune mana pe telefon,
10:00
just like FOXO gets on the DNA --
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la fel cum FOXO acceseaza ADN-ul,
10:02
and he calls up
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si suna diversi specialisti,
10:04
the roofer, the window person,
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pe cel care repara acoperisuri, cel cu ferestrele,
10:06
the painter, the floor person.
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zugravul, cel cu podelele.
10:09
And they all come and they fortify the house.
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Iar acestia vin si consolideaza cladirea.
10:11
And then the hurricane comes through,
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Astfel incat atunci cand vine uraganul,
10:13
and the house is in much better condition than it would normally have been in.
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cladirea este intr-o stare mult mai buna decat ar fi fost in mod normal.
10:15
And not only that, it can also just last longer,
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Si pe langa asta, cladirea poate rezista mai mult
10:18
even if there isn't a hurricane.
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chiar daca nu vine uraganul.
10:20
So that's the concept here
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Deci acesta este modul in care credem ca
10:22
for how we think this life extension ability exists.
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functioneaza aceasta abilitate de marire a longevitatii.
10:26
Now the really cool thing about FOXO
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Iar lucrul cel mai fain referitor la FOXO
10:28
is that there are different forms of it.
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este ca exista mai multe forme ale sale.
10:30
We all have FOXO genes,
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Cu totii avem gene FOXO,
10:33
but we don't all have exactly the same form of the FOXO gene.
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dar nu avem toti fix aceeasi forma a genei FOXO.
10:36
Just like we all have eyes,
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La fel cum toti avem ochi,
10:38
but some of us have blue eyes and some of us have brown eyes.
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dar unii dintre noi avem ochi albastrii iar altii ii au caprui.
10:41
And there are certain forms of the FOXO gene
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Si sunt anumite forme ale genei FOXO
10:44
that have found to be more frequently present
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care au fost mai des gasite
10:46
in people who live to be 90 or 100.
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la oamenii care traiesc 90 sau 100 ani.
10:48
And that's the case all over the world,
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Iar acest lucru este valabil in toata lumea,
10:50
as you can see from these stars.
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dupa cum vedeti cu ajutorul acestor stele.
10:52
And each one of these stars represents a population
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Fiecare stea reprezinta o populatie
10:54
where scientists have asked,
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unde oamenii de stiinta au intrebat:
10:56
"Okay, are there differences in the type of FOXO genes
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"Exista pana la urma diferite tipuri de gene FOXO
10:58
among people who live a really long time?" and there are.
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printre oamenii foarte longevivi?". Si se pare ca sunt.
11:01
We don't know the details of how this works,
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Nu avem detalii despre mecanismul implicat,
11:03
but we do know then
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dar stim ca
11:05
that FOXO genes can impact
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genele FOXO influenteaza
11:07
the lifespan of people.
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speranta de viata a oamenilor.
11:09
And that means that, maybe if we tweak it a little bit,
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Iar asta inseamna ca, daca am putea-o regla,
11:12
we can increase the health and longevity of people.
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atunci am putea imbunatatii sanatatea si longevitatea oamenilor.
11:16
So this is really exciting to me.
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Pentru mine acest lucru este cu adevarat incitant.
11:18
A FOXO is a protein that we found in these little, round worms
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Am descoperit ca FOXO influenteaza speranta de viata
11:20
to affect lifespan,
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in acesti viermi cilindrici
11:22
and here it affects lifespan in people.
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si iata ca influenteaza speranta de viata si la oameni.
11:24
So we've been trying in our lab now
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Deci acum incercam sa dezvoltam,
11:26
to develop drugs
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in laboratorul nostru, compusi
11:28
that will activate this FOXO cell
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care sa activeze FOXO
11:30
using human cells now
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in celulele umane,
11:32
in order to try and come up with drugs
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astfel incat sa putem descoperii medicamente
11:34
that will delay aging and age-related diseases.
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care sa amane imbatranirea si bolile batranetii.
11:37
And I'm really optimistic that this is going to work.
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Si sunt foarte optimista ca va functiona.
11:40
There are lots of different proteins that are known to affect aging.
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Sunt multe proteine despre care se cunoaste ca afecteaza imbatranirea.
11:43
And for at least one of them, there is a drug.
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Si pentru cel putin una dintre ele exista un medicament.
11:46
There's one called TOR, which is another nutrient sensor,
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Exista una numita TOR, care este tot un senzor de nutrienti,
11:48
like the insulin pathway.
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la fel ca si insulina.
11:50
And mutations that damage the TOR gene --
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Iar mutatii care afecteaza gena TOR,
11:52
just like the daf-2 mutations --
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la fel ca in cazul mutatiilor daf-2,
11:54
extend lifespan in worms
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maresc speranta de viata a viermilor,
11:56
and flies and mice.
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mustelor si soarecilor.
11:59
But in this case, there's already a drug called rapamycin
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Exista deja un medicament numit rapamycin
12:01
that binds to the TOR protein
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care se leaga de proteina TOR
12:03
and inhibits its activity.
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si ii inhiba activitatea.
12:05
And you can take rapamycin and give it to a mouse --
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Si poti da rapamycin unui soarece
12:08
even when it's pretty old, like age 60 for a human,
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destul de batran, cam la 60 de ani pentru un om,
12:10
that old for a mouse --
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atat de batran,
12:12
if you give the mouse rapamycin,
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si daca dai rapamycin soarecelui,
12:14
it will live longer.
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acesta va trai mai mult.
12:16
Now I don't want you all to go out taking rapamycin.
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Ce-i drept, nu as vrea sa va apucati sa luati rapamycin.
12:18
It is a drug for people,
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Este intradevar un medicament pentru oameni,
12:20
but the reason is it suppresses the immune system.
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dar este folosit pentru suprimarea sistemului imunitar.
12:23
So people take it to prevent organ transplants from being rejected.
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Iar oamenii il iau pentru a preveni respingerea transplantului de organe.
12:27
So this may not be the perfect drug
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Deci nu este medicamentul perfect
12:29
for staying young longer.
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pentru a ramane tanar.
12:31
But still, here in the year 2011,
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Dar totusi, acum in anul 2011,
12:34
there's a drug that you can give to mice at a pretty old age
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exista un medicament pe care-l poti da soarecilor in varsta
12:36
that will extend their lifespan,
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marindu-le astfel speranta de viata,
12:38
which comes out of this science
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medicament care provine din cercetarile
12:40
that's been done in all these different animals.
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care au fost realizate pe toate aceste animale.
12:42
So I'm really optimistic,
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Deci sunt cu adevarat optimista,
12:44
and I think it won't be too long, I hope,
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si sper ca nu va mai dura mult,
12:46
before this age-old dream begins to come true.
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pana cand aceast vis din vechime se va indeplini.
12:49
Thank you.
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Va multumesc.
12:51
(Applause)
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_
13:00
Matt Ridley: Thank you, Cynthia.
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Matt Ridley: Multumim Cynthia.
13:03
Let me get this straight.
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Permite-mi sa clarific.
13:05
Although you're looking for a drug
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Desi voi cautati un medicament
13:07
that can solve aging
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care sa rezolve problema imbatranirii,
13:09
in old men like me,
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la batrani ca mine,
13:12
what you could do now pretty well in the lab,
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ati putea chiar acum in laborator,
13:15
if you were allowed ethically,
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daca v-ar permite etica,
13:17
is start a human life from scratch
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sa porniti de la zero viata unui om
13:20
with altered genes that would make it live for a lot longer?
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cu genele modificate, ceea ce i-ar permite sa traiasca foarte mult?
13:23
CK: Ah, so the kinds of drugs I was talking about
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CK: Deci, tipul de medicamente despre care vorbeam
13:26
would not change the genes,
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nu ar modifica genele,
13:28
they would just bind to the protein itself
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doar s-ar lega de proteine
13:31
and change its activity.
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si le-ar modifica functionarea.
13:33
So if you stop taking the drug, the protein would go back to normal.
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Iar daca nu le-ai mai lua, atunci proteinele ar reveni la normal.
13:36
You could change the genes in principle.
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Ai putea in principiu sa modifici genele.
13:39
There isn't the technology to do that.
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Nu avem tehnologia care sa ne permita acest lucru.
13:41
But I don't think that's a good idea.
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Dar nu cred ca ar fi o ideea buna.
13:43
And the reason is
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Iar motivul este
13:45
that these hormones,
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ca acesti hormoni,
13:47
like the insulin and the IGF hormones and the TOR pathway,
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cum ar fi insulina, IGF si TOR,
13:50
they're essential.
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sunt esentiali.
13:52
If you knock them out completely, then you're very sick.
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Daca ii elimini complet, atunci ai deveni foarte bolnav.
13:55
So it might be that you would just have to fine tune it very carefully
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Deci este posibil sa fie nevoie sa reglezi foarte bine lucrurile
13:58
to get the benefits without getting any problems.
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pentru a te bucura de avantaje fara a avea probleme.
14:01
And I think that's much better,
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Si cred ca este mult mai bine
14:03
that kind of control would be much better as a drug.
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ca acest tip de control sa fie obtinut printr-un medicament.
14:05
And also, there are other ways of activating FOXO
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De asemenea, exista alte moduri de activare a FOXO
14:08
that don't even involve insulin or IGF-1
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care nu implica insulina sau IGF-1
14:10
that might even be safer.
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care s-ar putea dovedi mai sigure.
14:12
MR: I wasn't suggesting that I was going to go and do it, but ...
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MR: Nu sugeram ca m-as fi apucat sa o fac, dar...
14:15
(Laughter)
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_
14:19
There's a phenomenon which you have written about and spoken about,
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Exista un fenomen despre care ai scris si vorbit,
14:23
which is a negligible senescence.
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care se numeste imbatranire neglijabila.
14:26
There are some creatures on this planet already
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Exista deja anumite creaturi pe acest pamant
14:28
that don't really do aging.
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care nu imbatranesc.
14:31
Just move to one side for us, if you would.
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Muta-te pe partea noastra te rog.
14:34
CK: There are. There are some animals that don't seem to age.
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CK: Intradevar, exista anumite animale care par sa nu imbatraneasca.
14:37
For example, there are some tortoises called Blanding's turtles.
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De exemplu, anumite testoasele Emydoidea blandingii.
14:41
And they grow to be about this size.
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Iar acestea cresc de marimea aceasta.
14:43
And they've been tagged, and they've been found to be 70 years old.
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Si au fost marcate si s-a descoperit ca sunt in varsta de 70 de ani.
14:46
And when you look at these 70 year-old turtles,
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Si cand te uiti la aceste testoase de 70 de ani,
14:48
you can't tell the difference, just by looking,
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nu poti sa faci diferenta vizual
14:51
between those turtles and 20 year-old turtles.
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intre aceste testoase si unele de 20 de ani.
14:53
And the 70 year-old ones,
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Iar acestea de 70 de ani,
14:55
actually they're better at scouting out the good nesting places,
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sunt mai pricepute sa descopere zonele bune de depus ouale,
14:58
and they also have more progeny every year.
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astfel incat au mai multi urmasi in fiecare an.
15:01
And there are other examples of these kinds of animals,
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Exista si alte exemple de astfel de animale,
15:04
like turns, certain kinds of birds are like this.
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cum ar fi anumite specii de pasari.
15:07
And nobody knows if they really can live forever,
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Nimeni nu stie daca sunt cu adevarat nemuritoare,
15:09
or what keeps them from aging.
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sau ce le face sa nu imbatraneasca.
15:11
It's not clear.
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Nu este clar.
15:13
If you look at birds, which live a long time,
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Daca studiezi pasarile, care sunt longevive,
15:16
cells from the birds tend to be more resistant
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celulele pasarilor tind sa fie mai rezistente
15:19
to a lot of different environmental stresses
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la o multime de factori de stres de mediu,
15:21
like high temperature
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cum ar fi temperatura ridicata,
15:23
or hydrogen peroxide, things like that.
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sau apa oxigenata (perhidrol), lucruri de acest gen.
15:25
And our long-lived mutants are too.
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Si mutantii nostri longevivi sunt rezistenti.
15:27
They're more resistant to these kinds of stresses.
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Sunt mai rezistenti la aceste tipuri de stres.
15:29
So it could be that the pathways that I've been talking about,
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Deci s-ar putea ca mecanismele despre care am vorbit,
15:32
which are set to run really quickly in the worm,
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care sunt setate la o viteza foarte mare la viermi,
15:35
have a different normal set point
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sa fie reglate la alt nivel
15:38
in something like a bird, so that a bird can live a lot longer.
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in cazul pasarilor, ceea ce le permite acestora sa fie mai longevive.
15:41
And maybe they're even set really differently
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Si ar putea fi reglate complet diferit
15:43
in animals with no senescence at all -- but we don't know.
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la animalele care nu imbatranesc, dar nu stim.
15:46
MR: But what you're talking about here
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MR: Dar tu nu ai vorbit aici despre
15:48
is not extending human lifespan
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despre marirea sperantei de viata a oamenilor
15:51
by preventing death,
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prin prevenirea mortii, ci mai degraba
15:53
so much as extending human youthspan.
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prin extinterea tineretii oamenilor.
15:55
CK: Yes, that's right.
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CK: Intradevar, asa este.
15:57
It's more like, say, if you were a dog.
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Ca sa facem o comparatie cu un caine,
15:59
You notice that you're getting old, and you look at your human
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realizezi ca imbatranesti si te uiti la stapan
16:01
and you think, "Why isn't this human getting old?"
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si te intrebi: "De ce nu imbatraneste acest om?"
16:03
They're not getting old in the dog's lifespan.
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Ei nu imbatranesc in timpul vietii cainelui.
16:05
It's more like that.
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Cam asa este.
16:07
But now we're the human looking out and imagining a different human.
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Dar acum suntem oameni si ne imaginam altfel de oameni.
16:11
MR: Thank you very much indeed, Cynthia Kenyon.
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MR: Iti multumim foarte mult Cynthia Kenyon.
16:14
(Applause)
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_
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cynthia Kenyon - Biochemist, geneticistWhen it comes to aging well, having “good genes” (or rather, mutant ones) is key, says Cynthia Kenyon. She unlocked the genetic secret of longevity in roundworms — and now she’s working to do the same for humans.
Why you should listen
Cynthia Kenyon is revolutionizing our understanding of aging. As an expert in biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California at San Francisco, she is particularly interested in the influence that genetics have on age-related diseases (from cancer to heart failure) in living things.
Her biggest breakthrough was figuring out that there’s a “universal hormonal control for aging”: carbohydrate intake, which can have a dramatic effect on how two critical genes behave, reducing insulin production and boosting repair and renovation activities. So far, her theory has proved true for worms, mice, rats, and monkeys — and she suspects it applies to humans, too.
By studying aging, Kenyon believes that she and other scientists (many of whom have successfully duplicated her experiments) will be able to pinpoint the molecules responsible for the onset of age-related diseases in people and prevent them. She’s co-founded a drug-development company called Elixir Pharmaceuticals to do just that.
She says: "The link between aging and age-related disease suggests an entirely new way to combat many diseases all at once; namely, by going after their greatest risk factor: aging itself."
Cynthia Kenyon | Speaker | TED.com