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Shorter lifespan in men linked with loss of male sex chromosome while aging

Understanding how Y chromosome may contribute to age-related diseases can help prevent them

14-Jul-2022

Key points from article :

The Y chromosome can be lost through the process of aging, and this can lead to an increased risk of heart failure and cardiovascular disease.

DNA-editing tool CRISPR was used to introduce breaks into the Y chromosome DNA of white blood cells in mice, destroying and eliminating the Y chromosome. 

Treating the mice with a drug that blocks heart scarring, however, was able to restore lost heart function.

Data from the U.K. Biobank, a large database of medical and genetic data from 500,000 participants were analyzed.

Men who had lost their Y chromosomes had a 31% increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with men who hadn’t.

They are searching for specific genes that are lost with the Y chromosome that may be responsible for the disease-causing effects of Y chromosome loss. 

The study was published in the journal Science.

Mentioned in this article:

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Kenneth Walsh

Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine

Science

Peer-reviewed academic online journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

UK BioBank

UK Biobank is a national and international health resource registered as a charity in Scotland

Topics mentioned on this page:
Life Expectancy, Heart Disease
Shorter lifespan in men linked with loss of male sex chromosome while aging