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3 Conserved Mechanisms of Life-Span Regulation and Extension in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Life-Span Extension

Part of the book series: Aging Medicine ((AGME))

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Abstract

Human aging correlates with stereotypical changes in physical attributes as well as with an increased incidence of many diseases: atherosclerotic heart disease, cancer, neurological disorders, osteoporosis, obesity, and diabetes. Before we can successfully combat such a wide range of debilitating conditions, a more thorough understanding of the molecular determinants of aging is required. The use of Caenorhabditis elegans to identify the basis of human aging has facilitated the rapid identification of genes through a combination of genetic and RNA interference screens. These life-span-controlling genes identified in the worm regulate life span in many organisms and have been shown to play roles in endocrine signaling, reproduction, stress adaptation, metabolism, and genomic maintenance.

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Abbreviations

DAF-c:

Dauer constitutive

DAF-d:

Dauer defective

DR:

Dietary restriction

ETC:

Electron transport chain

FOXO:

Forkhead

IGF-I:

Insulin-like growth factor I

PI3K:

Phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase

PTEN:

Phosphatase and tensin homolog

RNAi:

RNA interference

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

TGF:

Transforming growth factor

TOR:

Target of rapamycin

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to members of the Ruvkun laboratory for comments on this chapter and to the NIH for funding. I regret that, due to length limitations, I could not acknowledge all the studies on aging of the C. elegans research community.

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  1. Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, CPZN 7250, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Sean P. Curran

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  1. Sean P. Curran
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Correspondence to Sean P. Curran .

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  1. College of Medicine, Drexel University, North 15th St. 245, Philadelphia, 19102, U.S.A.

    Christian Sell

  2. College of Medicine, Drexel University, North 15th St. 245, Philadelphia, 19102, U.S.A.

    Antonello Lorenzini

  3. School of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, N. Columbia Road 501, Grand Forks, 58203, U.S.A.

    Holly M. Brown-Borg

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Curran, S.P. (2009). 3 Conserved Mechanisms of Life-Span Regulation and Extension in Caenorhabditis elegans . In: Sell, C., Lorenzini, A., Brown-Borg, H. (eds) Life-Span Extension. Aging Medicine. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-507-1_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-60327-507-1_3

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