Researchers have discovered the vital role of a hormone in providing an early prediction of whether a young male could develop certain diseases in later life.
Scientists from the University of Nottingham have discovered that the novel insulin-like peptide hormone INSL3 that develops in men during puberty, is consistent over long periods of time and is an important early biomarker for prediction of age-linked disease.
The latest findings are published in Frontiers in Endocrinology.
INSL3 is made by the same cells in the testes that make testosterone.
But unlike testosterone which fluctuates as a man ages, INSL3 remains consistent, with the level at puberty remaining largely the same throughout a man’s life, decreasing only slightly into old age.
This makes INSL3 the first clear and reliable predictive biomarker of age-related morbidity as compared to any other measurable parameters.
The results finding reveal that the level of INSL3 in blood correlates with a range of age-related illnesses, such as bone weakness, sexual dysfunction, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Professor Ravinder Anand-Ivell said:
“The holy grail of aging research is to reduce the fitness gap that appears as people age.
“Understanding why some people are more likely to develop disability and disease as they age is vital so that interventions can be found to ensure people not only live a long life but also a healthy life as they age.
“Our hormone discovery is an important step in understanding this and will pave the way for not only helping people individually but also helping to ease the care crisis we face as a society.”
The researchers analysed blood samples from 3,000 men from eight regional centres in north, south, east and west of Europe, including the UK, with two samples taken four years apart.
The results revealed that, unlike testosterone, INSL3 remains at consistent levels in individuals
The discovery of the consistent nature of this hormone is very significant because it means that a man with high INSL3 when young will still have high INSL3 when he is older.
However, someone with low INSL3 already at a young age, will have low INSL3 when older making him more likely to acquire typical age-related illnesses.
The finding opens up exciting possibilities for predicting age-related illnesses and finding ways to prevent the onset of these diseases with early intervention.
Professor Richard Ivell adds:
“Now we know the important role this hormone plays in predicting disease and how it varies amongst men we are turning our attention to finding out what factors have the most influence on the level of INSL3 in the blood.
“Preliminary work suggests early life nutrition may play a role, but many other factors such as genetics or exposure to some environmental endocrine disruptors may play a part.”
