每日英语听力外刊精读(往期@20230214):重磅发现:端粒、线粒体和炎症竟然能共同作用预防癌症


文本选自:SALK NEWS
作者:Unknown
原文标题:Telomeres, mitochondria, and inflammation oh my! Three hallmarks of aging work together to prevent cancer
原文发布时间:11 Feb. 2023
Telomeres, mitochondria, and inflammation oh my! Three hallmarks of aging work together to prevent cancer
As we age, the end caps of our chromosomes, called telomeres, gradually shorten. Now, Salk scientists have discovered that when telomeres become very short, they communicate with mitochondria, the cell's powerhouses. This communication triggers a complex set of signaling pathways and initiates an inflammatory response that destroys cells that could otherwise become cancerous. The findings, published in Nature on February 8, 2023, could lead to new ways of preventing and treating cancer as well as designing better interventions to offset the harmful consequences of aging.
The discovery is the result of a collaboration between co-senior authors and Salk Professors Jan Karlseder and Gerald Shadel, who teamed up to explore similarities they had each found in inflammatory signaling pathways. Karlseder's lab studies telomere biology and how telomeres prevent cancer formation. Shadel's lab studies the role mitochondria play in human disease, aging, and the immune system.
"We were excited to discover that telomeres talk to mitochondria, " says Karlseder, holder of the Donald and Darlene Shiley Chair. "They clearly synergize in well-controlled biological processes to initiate cellular pathways that kill cells that could cause cancer." When telomeres shorten to a point where they can no longer protect chromosomes from damage, a process called "crisis" occurs and cells die. This beneficial natural process removes cells with very short telomeres and unstable genomes and is known to be a powerful barrier against cancer formation.
重磅发现:端粒、线粒体和炎症竟然能共同作用预防癌症

精听党背景导读
2023年2月8日,索尔克研究所的研究人员在Nature期刊发表了题为:Telomere-to-mitochondria signalling by ZBP1 mediates replicative crisis 的研究论文。
这项研究表明, 随着人类年龄的增长与细胞分裂次数的增加,当端粒短到一定程度时,其将开始与线粒体发生相互作用,并且这种相互作用能够进一步触发炎症免疫反应,从而促进体内的肿瘤抑制机制,有效杀伤癌细胞。
文本选自:SALK NEWS作者:Unknown原文标题:Telomeres, mitochondria, and inflammation oh my! Three hallmarks of aging work together to prevent cancer原文发布时间:11 Feb. 2023关键词:端粒 线粒体 衰老
精听党带着问题听
1.“老化过程”用英语可以如何表达?2. 如何理解第二段中的“powerhouse”?3. 端粒与线粒体具体是如何起协同作用的?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Telomeres, mitochondria, and inflammation oh my! Three hallmarks of aging work together to prevent cancer
端粒、线粒体和炎症,天哪!衰老的三个特征共同作用预防癌症
telomere n. [遗] 端粒;染色体终端;
mitochondria n. 线粒体(mitochondrion 的复数);
inflammation n. 发炎,炎症;
hallmark n. 标志;特征;1. Chopsticks are highly praised by Westerners as a hallmark of ancient oriental civilization. 筷子被西方人高度赞扬为古代东方文明的标志。
aging n. 老化,变老;1. aging process 老化过程;2. anti-aging adj. 抗衰老的;
段一
As we age, the end caps of our chromosomes, called telomeres, gradually shorten. Now, Salk scientists have discovered that when telomeres become very short, they communicate with mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses. This communication triggers a complex set of signaling pathways and initiates an inflammatory response that destroys cells that could otherwise become cancerous. The findings, published in Nature on February 8, 2023, could lead to new ways of preventing and treating cancer as well as designing better interventions to offset the harmful consequences of aging.
cap n. 帽子;(对物件起保护作用的)罩,盖,套;
chromosome n. 染色体;
communicate with 沟通,交流;
powerhouse n. 动力源;强大的集团(或组织);1. China has been described as an ‘emerging economic powerhouse’. 中国被称为“崛起中的经济强国”。
trigger vt. 引发,激发,触发;
a set of 一套;一组;
signaling pathway 信号通路;
initiate vt. 开始实施,发起;1. The government has initiated a programme of economic reform. 政府开始了一项经济改革计划。
cancerous adj. 癌的;生癌的;
intervention n. 干预,干涉;
offset vt. 补偿,抵销;1. Prices have risen in order to offset the increased cost of materials. 为了抵消增加的材料成本,物价上涨了。
参考译文
随着年龄的增长,染色体的端粒会逐渐变短。现在,索尔克的科学家们已经发现,当端粒变得非常短时,它们会与细胞的动力来源线粒体进行交流。这种交流触发了一系列复杂的信号通路,并引发了炎症反应,从而破坏了原本可能癌变的细胞。这项研究结果于2023年2月8日发表在《自然》杂志上,可能会带来预防和治疗癌症的新方法,以及设计更好的干预措施来抵消衰老的有害后果。
段二
The discovery is the result of a collaboration between co-senior authors and Salk Professors Jan Karlseder and Gerald Shadel, who teamed up to explore similarities they had each found in inflammatory signaling pathways. Karlseder’s lab studies telomere biology and how telomeres prevent cancer formation. Shadel’s lab studies the role mitochondria play in human disease, aging, and the immune system.
collaboration n. 合作,协作;
team up 合作;结成一队;
similarity n. 相似之处;
biology n. 生物学;生命机理,作用方式;
immune system 免疫系统;
参考译文
这一发现是共同资深作者与索尔克大学教授简·卡尔塞德和杰拉尔德·沙德尔合作的结果,他们联手探索了他们各自在炎症信号通路中发现的相似之处。卡尔塞德的实验室研究端粒生物学以及端粒如何防止癌症形成。沙德尔的实验室研究线粒体在人类疾病、衰老和免疫系统中的作用。
段三
“We were excited to discover that telomeres talk to mitochondria,” says Karlseder, holder of the Donald and Darlene Shiley Chair. “They clearly synergize in well-controlled biological processes to initiate cellular pathways that kill cells that could cause cancer.” When telomeres shorten to a point where they can no longer protect chromosomes from damage, a process called “crisis” occurs and cells die. This beneficial natural process removes cells with very short telomeres and unstable genomes and is known to be a powerful barrier against cancer formation.
synergize vi. 协同加强……的活动;
well-controlled adj. 控制良好的;
biological process 生物学过程;
cellular pathway 细胞通路;1. cellular adj. 由细胞组成的,细胞的;(电话系统)蜂窝状的,蜂窝式的;
genome n. 基因组,染色体组;
be known to 为……所知;为某人所熟知;
参考译文
“我们很兴奋地发现端粒可以与线粒体对话。”唐纳德和达琳·席利主席卡尔塞德说。“它们显然在控制良好的生物过程中起协同作用,启动细胞通路,杀死可能导致癌症的细胞。”当端粒缩短到不能再保护染色体免受损伤时,就会发生“危机”,细胞就会死亡。这种有益的自然过程去除了端粒非常短和基因组不稳定的细胞,并被认为是抗癌症形成的强大屏障。
精听党每日单词
telomere
/ˈteləˌmɪr; ˈtiləˌmɪr/ n. [遗] 端粒;染色体终端;
mitochondria
/ˌmaɪtoˈkɑndrɪr/ n. 线粒体(mitochondrion 的复数);
inflammation
/ˌɪnfləˈmeɪʃn/ n. 发炎,炎症;
hallmark
/ˈhɔːlmɑːrk/ n. 标志;特征;
aging
/ˈeɪdʒɪŋ/ n. 老化,变老;
cap
/kæp/ n. 帽子;(对物件起保护作用的)罩,盖,套;
chromosome
/ˈkroʊməsoʊm/ n. 染色体;
communicate with
 沟通,交流;
powerhouse
/ˈpaʊərhaʊs/ n. 动力源;强大的集团(或组织);
trigger
/ˈtrɪɡər/ vt. 引发,激发,触发;
a set of
 一套;一组;
signaling pathway
 信号通路;
initiate
/ɪˈnɪʃieɪt/ vt. 开始实施,发起;
cancerous
/ˈkænsərəs/ adj. 癌的;生癌的;
intervention
/ˌɪntərˈvenʃ(ə)n/ n. 干预,干涉;
offset
/ˈɔːfset/ vt. 补偿,抵销;
collaboration
/kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 合作,协作;
team up
 合作;结成一队;
similarity
/ˌsɪməˈlærəti/ n. 相似之处;
biology
/baɪˈɑːlədʒi/ n. 生物学;生命机理,作用方式;
immune system
 免疫系统;
synergize
/ˈsɪnədʒaɪz/ vi. 协同加强……的活动;
well-controlled
/wel kənˈtroʊld/ adj. 控制良好的;
biological process
 生物学过程;
cellular pathway
 细胞通路;
genome
/ˈdʒiːnoʊm/ n. 基因组,染色体组;
be known to
 为……所知;为某人所熟知;
精听党文化拓展
研究表明,癌症通常是由于细胞内在遗传和表观遗传学层面发生突变所导致,这种突变能够使细胞避开由端粒所控制的增殖上限从而实现永生。
在此之前,研究人员已经发现,当端粒缩短到无法再保护染色体免受损坏的程度时,细胞就会陷入“危机”状态,其将可能通过自噬机制被清除。而在最新研究中,研究团队试图了解在端粒极短的情况下,自噬依赖性细胞死亡程序是如何被激活的。
通过对人类成纤维细胞进行基因筛选,科学家们发现了相互依赖的免疫感应和炎症信号通路,其对于处在“危机”状态的细胞死亡至关重要。具体而言,只有极短端粒发出的特定RNA分子 (TERRA) 能够在线粒体外表面以独特的方式激活先天免疫传感器Z-DNA结合蛋白1 (ZBP1) 和线粒体抗病毒信号蛋白 (MAVS) 。该过程中,危机相关亚型ZBP1的mRNA水平上升,且依赖于MAVS的干扰素IFN信号也有所增强,这些证据表明上述免疫传感器在人体中引发了一系列炎症免疫反应。
总体而言,该研究揭示了一种由端粒介导的肿瘤抑制机制,即功能失调的端粒能够通过线粒体TERRA-ZBP1复合物激活先天免疫反应,从而消除即将转化为肿瘤的细胞。
精听党每日美句
The reason why a great man is great is that he resolves to be a great man.
伟人之所以伟大,是因为他立志要成为伟大的人。
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