Salk Scientists Discover How a Protein in Werner's Syndrome Affects Aging (IMAGE)

Salk Institute

Salk Scientists Discover How a Protein in Werner's Syndrome Affects Aging

Caption

Salk Institute researchers discovered that a protein mutated in the premature aging disorder, Werner syndrome, plays a key role in stabilizing heterochromatin, a tightly packaged form of DNA. More generally, the findings suggest that heterochromatin disorganization may be a key driver of aging. This image shows normal human cells (left) and genetically modified cells developed by the Salk scientists to simulate Werner syndrome (right), which showed signs of aging, including their larger size.

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Salk Institute

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