Some genetic conditions are caused by mutations in single genes, and clearly run in families. Others are more complex, with environmental factors influencing the behaviour of genes and modifying what is called the gene expression. There are many such factors, smoking, diet, alcohol to name a few common ones.
Most people I expect have heard of DNA. DNA is digital information in our cells, with 4 different building blocks called nucleobases, coded with the letters A, T C or G, and arranged in pairs. These base pairs form genes, and carry the ‘instructions’ for making different proteins, which have a huge range of functions within our body. Humans have about 20,000 genes, distributed across 23 pairs of chromosomes. Each chromosome in our cells has about 6 feet worth of DNA all coiled tightly together.
‘Epigenetic’ information is what tells the DNA what to do, like the software on a computer telling the hardware how to function. If we didn’t have epigenetics, an eye cell might mistakenly become a muscle or a kidney cell, for example, and imagine the trouble we would be in then!
DNA is extraordinarily robust, which is why it can be isolated from organic material many thousands of years old (remember the film Jurassic Park!) Epigenetic information is however relatively fragile, and things like gravity, x-rays, magnetic interference for example will degrade it. DNA is constantly being regulated, fixed and repaired, and a common issue when this process goes wrong, is that abnormal cells get multiplied without control, and this is how some cancers develop. The theory goes therefore, that if we protect our epigenome, then our DNA will be less likely to malfunction.
Some genes have been found to be important in how cells survive, and have become known as ‘longevity genes’. They constantly monitor our body’s health, and respond to what food we eat, how much exercise we do, how much we sleep and so on. All animals have them, in times of plenty, they tell our bodies to grow, whereas if times are hard and our bodies are stressed, they tell our bodies to conserve energy, which protects us from conditions such as cancer and heart disease, osteoporosis and dementia.
One such group of genes are called ‘sirtuins’, and mammals have 7 of them, and they are arguably the most important factors in how we age and develop disease because of their effect on our DNA. When we are young, these protective genes are highly efficient, which is why young people very rarely develop the diseases mentioned above, but the genes work less well as we get older. However, because they are controlled by epigenetic factors, this has provided scientists with ways of trying to influence them.
Other well-studies longevity genes include ‘Target of Rapamycin’ (or TOR for short) and AMPK. The key is to activate the protection genes without causing cell damage. The good news is that we already have many ways of influencing these genes, such as exercise, intermittent fasting and hot and cold exposure. In addition, there are medications being developed (and some supplements already available) which can mimic or augment the lifestyle factors. Large scale human studies are awaited, but there is a lot of promising animal data.
Another very interesting property of epigenetics is that you can use it to check your biological age, through a process known as DNA methylation. I have written about this before in my blog, and there is further information in my guide which you can view here. This technology is fascinating, and the fact it is even available in a home send away kit is rather mind boggling when you stop to think. I wonder where this technology will take us in 10 years?