Application of the radioprotectors in gerontology
A new method in the free-radical theory of aging is theoretically and experimentally validated, where the target is not free radicals, but DNA molecules, both mitochondrial and nuclear. At the same time, some radioprotectors, previously used to protect the body from radiation damage, are offered as antioxidants. The brief review of various strategies and methods in gerontology is given, their shortcomings are noted. In the quasi-crystalline model of DNA, the role of impurity levels is considered. The electronic spectra of DNA bases were calculated by the quantum-chemical extended Hückel method, which gave the band structure of DNA. The role of DNA self-repair in biological systems is evaluated. As radioprotectors when irradiated with laboratory mice, the Po-210 isotope was used by those whose target is DNA, in particular, orotic, thioric acid, orotylglycine and other antioxidant substances. The maximum survival rate of laboratory mice was obtained by injecting a radioprotector whose valency n-level is located closer to the middle of the forbidden DNA zone; a comparison is made of the proposed method of using radioprotectors with other methods in gerontology. It was concluded that the use of certain radioprotectors as geroprotectors is completely justified; such substances, which at the same time are antioxidants, in doses far from lethal, have a number of advantages over other geroprotectors.