As we age, DNA continues to replicate. However, this process is inseparable from what is called an error alias error. This is what eventually causes many men to lose their Y chromosomes.
This phenomenon is called mLOY (mosaic loss of Y chromosome) and is experienced by 40% of men over the age of 70 years. The impact of losing the Y chromosome also turns out to be quite dangerous.
The Y chromosome has been known to have the function of controlling the function of sexual organs and other sex -related characteristics. However, there are studies that say that chromosomes can also determine why a person is more likely to have a certain disease than those who do not have the chromosome.
In epidemiological studies, mLOY has been linked to shorter lifespan and risk of older age -related diseases, such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. The condition can also be linked to heart dysfunction, according to a new study that mimics the human condition in mice, reported Science Alert, Monday (7/18/2022).
However, it is temporarily unclear how the loss of the Y chromosome from blood cells causes organ damage and disease in other parts of the body, and increases the risk of age -related diseases, especially cardiovascular disease and stroke.
The research team, led by researcher Soichi Sano of Osalias Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, investigated the questions a little deeper, and has shown how mLOY triggers tissue damage that causes heart failure in mice and is linked to cardiovascular disease.
In the study, researchers used a well -known CRISPR gene editing tool to engineer mice without a Y chromosome in their white blood cells to mimic human mLOY conditions.
As a result, CRISPR-treated mice lived shorter than unaffected mice. The mice had increased scar tissue on the heart, a condition known as cardiac fibrosis. This research has been published in the journal Science.