Aging cell
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Understanding the factors that contribute to age-related cognitive decline is imperative, particularly as age is the major risk factor for several neurodegenerative disorders. Levels of several cytokines increase in the brain during aging, including IL-1β, whose levels positively correlate with cognitive deficits. Previous reports show that reducing the activity of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) extends lifespan in yeast, nematodes, Drosophila, and mice. ⋯ In contrast, rapamycin does not improve cognition when given to 15-month-old mice with pre-existing, age-dependent learning and memory deficits. We further show that the rapamycin-mediated improvement in learning and memory is associated with a decrease in IL-1β levels and an increase in NMDA signaling. This is the first evidence to show that a small molecule known to increase lifespan also ameliorates age-dependent learning and memory deficits.
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Age-associated immune dysfunction, characterized by increased systemic levels of cytokines, manifests as an increased susceptibility to infections. Thus, understanding these negative regulators of the immune response has paved the way to delineating signaling pathways that impact immune senescence. In the present study, we found that miR-146a, which negatively regulated the expression of IL-1β and IL-6, was highly expressed in aged mice. ⋯ Additionally, high levels of histone deacetylase (HDACs) expressions contributed to the inhibition of miR-146a expression in LPS-stimulated macrophages from aged mice in vitro. While the suppression of HDACs activities by TSA could improve LPS-induced inflammatory responses owing to up-regulation of miR-146a expression in macrophages from aged mice. These data indicate that the dysregulated expression of miR-146a results in the age-associated dysfunction of macrophages, and miR-146a may be a good target for the treatment of age-related inflammatory diseases.
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Meta Analysis
Genome-wide association study identifies a single major locus contributing to survival into old age; the APOE locus revisited.
By studying the loci that contribute to human longevity, we aim to identify mechanisms that contribute to healthy aging. To identify such loci, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) comparing 403 unrelated nonagenarians from long-living families included in the Leiden Longevity Study (LLS) and 1670 younger population controls. The strongest candidate SNPs from this GWAS have been analyzed in a meta-analysis of nonagenarian cases from the Rotterdam Study, Leiden 85-plus study, and Danish 1905 cohort. ⋯ In addition, we observed a novel association between this locus and serum levels of IGF-1 in women (P=0.005). In conclusion, the major locus determining familial longevity up to high age as detected by GWAS was marked by rs2075650, which tags the deleterious effects of the ApoE ε4 allele. No other major longevity locus was found.
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Dampening of insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) signaling results in the extension of lifespan in invertebrate as well as murine models. The impact of this evolutionarily conserved pathway on the modulation of human lifespan remains unclear. We previously identified two IGF1R mutations (Ala-37-Thr and Arg-407-His) that are enriched in Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians as compared to younger controls and are associated with the reduced activity of the IGF1 receptor as measured in immortalized lymphocytes. ⋯ The impaired IGF1 signaling caused by the IGF1R mutations resulted in the reduced induction of the major IGF1-activated genes in MEFs, including EGR1, mCSF, IL3Rα, and TDAG51. Furthermore, the IGF1R mutations caused a delay in cell cycle progression after IGF1 treatment, indicating a dysfunctional physiological response to a cell proliferation signal. These results demonstrate that the human longevity-associated IGF1R variants are reduced-function mutations, implying that dampening of IGF1 signaling may be a longevity mechanism in humans.
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Genetic variation in FOXO3A has previously been associated with human longevity. Studies published so far have been case-control studies and hence vulnerable to bias introduced by cohort effects. In this study we extended the previous findings in the cohorts of oldest old Danes (the Danish 1905 cohort, N=1089) and middle-aged Danes (N=736), applying a longitudinal study design as well as the case-control study design. ⋯ Moreover, we found association of the haplotypes TAC and CAC of rs9486902, rs10499051, and rs12206094 (corrected P-values: 0.01-0.03) with longevity. Finally, we here present data applying a longitudinal study design; when using follow-up survival data on the oldest old in a longitudinal analysis, we found no SNPs to remain significant after the correction for multiple testing (Bonferroni correction). Hence, our results support and extent the proposed role of FOXO3A as a candidate longevity gene for survival from younger ages to old age, yet not during old age.