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Copy Number Variation Implements Pregnancy as an Aging Model

09-06-2023

“Such knowledge on physiological decline throughout pregnancy and the remarkable rejuvenation right after delivery will assist with revolutionizing our approach to treating the elderly.”

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BUFFALO, NY- September 6, 2023 – A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 16, entitled, “Copy number variation as a tool for implementing pregnancy as an aging model.”

Copy number variations (CNV) are a major contributor to genome variability. CNVs have been linked to aging and other degradable phenotypes such as pregnancy physiology. In this new study, researchers Mariana Andrawus, Lital Sharvit, Noga Touitou, Batia Lerrer, Haim Y. Cohen, and Gil Atzmon from University of Haifa and Bar-Ilan University used CNVs from pregnant mice to demonstrate how pregnancy can be used as a model of aging. 

“We hypothesize that pregnancy can serve as a model for aging by demonstrating similar biomarkers, pathologies, and genetic and epigenetic effects [3]. To test this hypothesis, we designed a study that assesses CNVs associated with human longevity (unpublished results) in pregnancy.”

Candidate CNVs were selected by applying case-control analysis in human centenarians compared with control groups. These CNVs were aligned with the mouse genome and their copy variation was assessed using qRT-PCR in liver and blood tissue samples from pregnant mice throughout pregnancy (baseline; first, second, and third trimester; post-partum). Eight of the ten selected CNVs demonstrated a significant decline/increase trend throughout the pregnancy followed by opposite direction soon after delivery in the liver and blood of the mouse tissues. 

Furthermore, significant differential expression was detected among the candidate CNVs’ close vicinity genes (APA2A, LSS, RBDHF1, PLAAT1, and SCL17A2), but not in the WSCD2 gene. Establishing a genetic link between longevity and pregnancy is a significant step toward implementing the pregnancy process as a model for aging. These results in pregnant mice highlight the mechanism and similarities between pregnancy and aging. 

“Investigating the mechanisms that cause such rejuvenation after labor could change our aging treatment paradigm.”

Read the full study: DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.204936 

Corresponding Author: Gil Atzmon

Corresponding Email: gatzmon@univ.haifa.ac.il 

Keywords: aging, pregnancy, copy number variation, gene expression

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About Aging-US:

The mission of the journal is to understand the mechanisms surrounding aging and age-related diseases, including cancer as the main cause of death in the modern aged population.

The journal aims to promote 1) treatment of age-related diseases by slowing down aging, 2) validation of anti-aging drugs by treating age-related diseases, and 3) prevention of cancer by inhibiting aging. (Cancer and COVID-19 are age-related diseases.)

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