MIT Researchers Discover 'Anti-Aging Molecule' That Can Heal DNA Lesions Linked With Alzheimer's

A joint Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-Harvard University study in Nature Communications identified an enzyme that could help reverse the effects of DNA damage connected to aging and Alzheimer's disease, reports the Daily Mail . The HDAC1 enzyme can help repair xoguanine lesions on DNA strands, and test subjects with fewer lesions have significantly better cognitive performance, memory, and basic spatial awareness. "I think this is a very broadly applicable basic biology finding, because nearly all of the human neurodegenerative diseases only happen during aging," said MIT's Li-Huei Tsai. "I would speculate that activating HDAC1 is beneficial in many conditions." The researchers used mice that were genetically engineered to not express HDAC1 as they aged in comparison with controls that had normal levels of the enzyme. Over time the mice lacking HDAC1 developed DNA lesions faster than the controls, and exhibited declines in memory tests and spatial navigation. HDAC1 regulates the production of a separate enzyme, OGG1, which can repair these lesions, but aging-related reduction in HDAC1 production causes the brain's self-healing ability to decline. "This study really positions HDAC1 as a potential new drug target for age-related phenotypes, as well as neurodegeneration-associated pathology and phenotypes," Tsai concluded.