Okay.
好了
So what is the daf-2 gene?
那么daf-2基因到底是什么?
Well as you know, genes, which are part of the DNA,
正如大家所知,基因是DNA的一部分
they're instructions to make a protein that does something.
它們是經編碼的指令,用于制造特定功能的蛋白質
And the daf-2 gene
而daf-2基因的編碼
encodes a hormone receptor.
對應了一類激素受體
So what you see in the picture there
圖片上可以看到的是一個細胞
is a cell with a hormone receptor in red
以及紅色的激素受體
punching through the edge of the cell.
插在細胞的邊緣
So part of it is like a baseball glove.
受體的一部分就像棒球手套
Part of it's on the outside,
外面的部分伸出去
and it's catching the hormone as it comes by in green.
當綠色的激素靠近的時候抓住這個激素
And the other part is on the inside
另外的部分在細胞內
where it sends signals into the cell.
向細胞傳遞信號
Okay, so what is the daf-2 receptor
好了,那daf-2受體向細胞里
telling the inside of the cell?
傳了什么樣的信號?
I just told you that, if you make a mutation in the daf-2 gene cell,
我剛剛說過,如果突變細胞里的daf-2基因
that you get a receptor that doesn't work as well;
就能得到一個功能不太給力的受體
the animal lives longer.
并且動物的壽命變長
So that means that the normal function of this hormone receptor
這就意味著這個激素受體的正常功能
is to speed up aging.
是加速衰老
That's what that arrow means.
就是圖上箭頭的意思
It speeds up aging. It makes it go faster.
總之會讓衰老來得更快
So it's like the animal has the grim reaper inside of itself,
就好像動物的身體里有個死神
speeding up aging.
一直在加速衰老
So this is altogether really, really interesting.
總之這個結論就非常有趣了
It says that aging is subject to control by the genes,
結論就是,衰老是受基因控制的
and specifically by hormones.
具體講是受激素控制的
So what kind of hormones are these?
這些激素又是什么樣的激素呢?
There's lots of hormones. There's testosterone, adrenalin.
有很多種激素,比如睪酮和腎上腺素
You know about a lot of them.
你肯定知道很多
These hormones are similar
這些激素和我們
to hormones that we have in our bodies.
身體里的激素差不多
The daf-2 hormone receptor
daf-2激素受體
is very similar to the receptor
與胰島素和IGF-1的受體
for the hormone insulin and IGF-1.
非常像
Now you've all heard of at least insulin.
至少大家都聽說過胰島素
Insulin is a hormone that promotes the uptake of nutrients
胰島素是一種激素,在飯后促進
into your tissues after you eat a meal.
身體的組織吸收營養
And the hormone IGF-1 promotes growth.
而IGF-1這種激素促進生長
So these functions were known for these hormones for a long time,
這些激素的功能是我們長久以來就知道的
but our studies suggested
但是我們的研究似乎暗示
that maybe they had a third function that nobody knew about --
有可能有第三種我們未知的功能--
maybe they also affect aging.
或許也能影響衰老
And it's looking like that's the case.
而且看起來似乎的確是這樣
So after we made our discoveries with little C. elegans,
所以在我們對秀麗隱桿線蟲的小發現之后
people who worked on other kinds of animals
研究其他動物的研究員提出問題
started asking, if we made the same daf-2 mutation,
如果在其他動物身上造成同樣的daf-2變異
the hormone receptor mutation, in other animals,
也就是激素受體變異
will they live longer?
它們也會更長壽嗎?
And that is the case in flies.
在蒼蠅身上,是的
If you change this hormone pathway in flies, they live longer.
如果改變蒼蠅體內這種激素的傳遞方式,它們就會長壽
And also in mice -- and mice are mammals like us.
在老鼠身上也一樣--而老鼠是像我們一樣的哺乳動物
So it's an ancient pathway,
所以其實這是一個古老原始的傳遞方式
because it must have arisen a long time ago in evolution
一定在很久以前的進化進程中就出現了
such that it still works in all these animals.
這樣才會讓所有動物身上都有這樣的效應
And also, the common precursor also gave rise to people.
而且,這些共同的實驗前兆也引向到人類的衰老問題上
So maybe it's working in people the same way.
所以或許在人類中也同樣適用
And there are hints of this.
確實有跡象表明這點
So for example, there was one study that was done
比如,曾有人針對紐約市
in a population of Ashkenazi Jews in New York City.
阿什肯納茲猶太人做了研究
And just like any population,
和其他人群一樣
most of the people live to be about 70 or 80,
大多數人活到70或80歲
but some live to be 90 or 100.
但是有的人活到了90或100歲
And what they found
研究人員發現
was that people who lived to 90 or 100
活到90或100歲的人
were more likely to have daf-2 mutations --
更有可能有daf-2變異--
that is, changes in the gene
也就是說,編碼了IGF-1受體
that encodes the receptor for IGF-1.
的那段基因產生了變異
And these changes made the gene not act as well
這些變異讓基因行為與正常基因相比
as the normal gene would have acted.
效果更弱一些
It damaged the gene.
相當于基因受損了
So those are hints
所以這些跡象
suggesting that humans are susceptible
表明人類對于控制衰老的激素
to the effects of the hormones for aging.
所帶來的效果是很敏感的
So the next question, of course, is:
所以接下來的問題當然就是
Is there any effect on age-related disease?
這對與年齡相關的老齡病有影響嗎?
As you age, you're much more likely
因為當年齡變老的時候,我們就更可能
to get cancer, Alzheimer's disease,
患上癌癥,老年癡呆癥
heart disease, all sorts of diseases.
心臟病,等等一系列的疾病
It turns out that these long-lived mutants
結果這些長壽的變異體
are more resistant to all these diseases.
對于這些疾病更有抵抗能力
They hardly get cancer,
他們幾乎不得癌癥
and when they do it's not as severe.
就算得了,也并不如本來應該的那樣嚴重
So it's really interesting, and it makes sense in a way,
所以這很有趣,而且這樣想來確實有道理
that they're still young,
他們的身體還年輕
so why would they be getting diseases of aging until their old?
所以為什么只有到老年,他們會得衰老的一些疾病
So it suggests
這就啟發我們
that, if we could have a therapeutic or a pill to take
如果有療法或者藥片
to replicate some of these effects in humans,
來對人體復制這些減緩衰老的效應
maybe we would have a way
也許我們就有辦法
of combating lots of different age-related diseases
一下子抵抗所有種類的
all at once.
老齡病