Chaperones of longevity
J. Krøll
Hafnia Unit of Biogerontology, Godthåbsvej 111,3, DK 2000, Freberiksberg, Denmark
The inherent immirtality of the embryonic stem cells imply that
replicative senescence as possibly aging and longevity are epigenetic
phenomena, probably resulting from changes in the expression of
relatively few regulatory genes. Among those it is suggested that
emphasis is placed on the genes that determines the level of expression
of the "housekeeping" molecular chaperones. Thus evidence is presented
that the longevity of species and cells correlates to the constitutive
level of expression of the molecular chaperones, as do the stress
resistance and the cellular resistance against malignant
transformation. Possibly the epigenetic phenonena of aging and
longevity are influenced by the progressive age related changes in
promotor methylation, that have the potential to permanently silence
gene expression. Evidence is presented that methylation inhibitors as
5-Aza-CdR can recover the expression of silenced genes.
Key words:
Molecular chaperones, longevity, aging, methylation, cancer
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