High Vinculin Levels Help Keep Aging Fruit Fly Hearts Young
Tuesday, July 17, 2018 - 12:00
in Biology & Nature
In the heart, aging can disrupt the protein network within muscle cells that move blood around the body. However, a new discovery in how heart muscles maintain their shape in fruit flies sheds light on the crucial relationship between cardiac function, metabolism, and longevity. Researchers have discovered that maintaining high levels of the protein vinculin confers health benefits to fruit flies. Their work, published in APL Bioengineering, shows that fruit flies bred to produce 50 percent more vinculin enjoyed better cardiovascular health and lived a third of their average life span longer.