Speed of Cell division/aging

[daniellos3]

 

So the cells divide at a certain speed each minute, and i know it is that speed that controls aging, so when we are born our cells are going really fast right and they always go slower and slower with age. Thats how our organs get tired and we die.. so imagine if we would come up with a way to to control the speed of which the cells divide, say its going at the speed X at age 24 and instead of progressing to the speed Y at the point we are 24 we do something that will affect the cell division so it will stay at speed X and that way we will be in the same physical condition until we die in a some sort of accident/disease/cancer... Am i right? So if i´m right then please tell me if it is known of course WHAT controls the speed of cell division, in advance we can start concluding about how we can start affecting that which controls it and therefore start researching on the matter and later find the solution, the ULTIMATE solution to the most horrific effect of aging, but remember i´m not talking about morality, reactions of society, cost of doing it to ones self and such..

 

And if i´m wrong about the part that the speed of cell division is the reason for aging then i will be really embarrassed cause i´m not 100% sure but i heard it somewhere.

Edited November 18, 2009 by daniellos3

[georgeskohler]

It's a really complicated topic. Cells receive signals from other cells around them which tell them to proliferate or not to. One example of this is a growth factor produced by one cell can bind to a molecule on the surface of another cell, which tells that cell to proliferate. Cells have to replicate their DNA prior to dividing and the telomeres on chromosomes get shorter with each division. This is partially prevented by the telomerase enzyme, but ultimately normal cells will enter into a senescent state and won't continue to proliferate. One mechanism cancer cells get around this is by expressing more telomerase and inactivating proteins such as p53 whose normal function is to prevent uncontrolled proliferation. So, I think if you tried to reactivate telomerase, you could run into problems.

[Mr Skeptic]

Also, a large portion of the cell divisions when you are young are because you are growing. However, you are right that cell division will dilute any damage to the cell and it's molecules, other than DNA damage. Since we don't have mechanisms to repair some damage (damage to proteins embedded in the nuclear membrane for example), only dilution by creating more undamaged molecules can prevent it from accumulating. Given that cell division is a natural process that will create more undamaged molecules for the cell, that seems like one obvious solution.

 

However as mentioned, there is also the problem of telomer shortening, where the cells will end up if you are not growing, and the fact that the restrictions on cell division help prevent cancer.