Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging investigated whether this flexibility becomes impaired as cells grow older. Their study focused on phosphatidylcholine, a membrane lipid that appears to help mitochondria maintain dynamic networks inside cells. When levels of the lipid fall, the researchers found that mitochondria can become less flexible and less efficient.
Maria Ermolaeva, the study’s lead author, compared the process to an aging electrical system. “You can imagine the whole system as a finely branched power grid that becomes increasingly damaged with age: connections break down and currents stall,” she said in a press statement. Energy production can continue, but the system becomes less efficient and less sustainable.
A Tiny Molecule Could Be Part Of The Problem
Phosphatidylcholine is part of the membranes surrounding cells and cellular structures. In mitochondria, the researchers found evidence that it plays a role in maintaining the flexibility needed for these organelles to adapt to changing energy requirements. As levels decline, mitochondrial networks appear to lose some of that adaptability.
The researchers studied the process using human cells, clinical datasets and Caenorhabditis elegans, a microscopic roundworm commonly used in aging research. The worms have a lifespan of only around two to three weeks, allowing scientists to watch age-related biological changes unfold much faster than they could in humans.
