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Epigenetic aspects of peptide-mediated regulation of aging

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Abstract

Endogenous peptides in the cyto- and nucleoplasm are formed upon the specific proteasomal degradation of nuclear proteins. These peptides are formed by short blocks of amino-acid residues with charged side groups and therefore a high local concentration of electrostatic charge of either sign is characteristic of them. These peptides are capable of complementary binding to certain short nucleotide sequences in DNA strands. This binding can cause a significant weakening of the interstrand bonds in the double helix of DNA and therefore stimulate the splitting of strands, which is necessary for gene transcription and replication. Aging is always accompanied by a decrease in the degree of genome methylation. The age-related decrease of the degree of methylation of nucleotide repeat sequences in the genome promotes the site-specific binding of short peptides to DNA, which hinders the hydrolysis of non-methylated DNA fragments by endonucleases. The available experimental data on the peculiarities of binding to methylated DNA are indicative of the involvement of short peptides in the epigenetic regulation of aging processes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pavlov Institute of Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, nab. Makarova 6, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

    V. Kh. Khavinson

  2. St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, pr. Dinamo 3, St. Petersburg, 197110, Russia

    V. Kh. Khavinson, A. Yu. Solov’ev, D. V. Zhilinskii & L. K. Shataeva

  3. Belozerskii Research Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow, Russia

    B. F. Vanyushin

  4. Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    B. F. Vanyushin

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Original Russian Text © V.Kh. Khavinson, A.Yu. Solov’ev, D.V. Zhilinskii, L.K. Shataeva, B.F. Vanyushin, 2012, published in Uspekhi Gerontologii, 2012, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 11–22.

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Khavinson, V.K., Solov’ev, A.Y., Zhilinskii, D.V. et al. Epigenetic aspects of peptide-mediated regulation of aging. Adv Gerontol 2, 277–286 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079057012040091

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