C16ORF70/MYTHO promotes healthy aging in C.elegans and prevents cellular senescence in mammals.

ABSTRACT: The identification of genes that confer either extension of life span or accelerate age-related decline was a step forward in understanding the mechanisms of aging and revealed that it is partially controlled by genetics and transcriptional programs. Here, we discovered that the human DNA sequence C16ORF70 encodes a protein, named MYTHO (macroautophagy and youth optimizer), which controls life span and health span. MYTHO protein is conserved from Caenorhabditis elegans to humans and its mRNA was upregulated in aged mice and elderly people. Deletion of the orthologous myt-1 gene in C. elegans dramatically shortened life span and decreased animal survival upon exposure to oxidative stress. Mechanistically, MYTHO is required for autophagy likely because it acts as a scaffold that binds WIPI2

SUBMITTER: Franco-Romero A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11291266 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature