Abstract
Gene expression is a fundamental process for all cells, and alterations in the expression of a gene(s) can have a dramatic effect on cell structure and function. During the past two decades, there has been a large number of studies on the effect of aging on various aspects of gene expression. The area that has been most extensively studied has been protein synthesis. Most studies in this area have shown that the protein synthetic activity of tissues from a variety of organisms declines with increasing age (Richardson, 1981; Richardson and Birchenall-Sparks, 1983; Richardson and Semsei, 1987). Because this decrease has been observed in organisms ranging from fungi to humans, it has been proposed that the age- related decline in protein synthesis is a universal phenomenon (Richardson, 1981). The effect of aging on transcription has been studied to a lesser extent than protein synthesis, and, in general, a related decline in transcription is usually observed in tissues (Richardson et al., 1983; Richardson and Semsei, 1987). Currently, investigators are beginning to use complementary DNA (cDNA) probes to measure the effect of aging on the expression of specific genes at the level of transcription (Richardson et al., 1985; Richardson and Semsei, 1987).
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© 1990 Plenum Press, New York
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Pahlavani, M.A., Cheung, H.T., Cai, NS., Richardson, A. (1990). Influence of Dietary Restriction and Aging on Gene Expression in the Immune System of Rats. In: Goldstein, A.L. (eds) Biomedical Advances in Aging. GWUMC Department of Biochemistry Annual Spring Symposia. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0513-2_23
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