title: Genetic modifications during cellular aging.
abstract: We review evidence that biological aging is a genetic process related to development and cytodifferentiation and thus may involve alterations of DNA structure and gene expression. We conclude that although determined to a high degree aging also involves stochastic features which lead to progressive somatic cell diversification during the life span. These considerations may help to explain the unevenness of physiological decline and the clonal emergence of certain age-dependent diseases such as cancer.
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004261:DNA Replication; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D005784:Gene Amplification; D005785:Gene Conversion; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008745:Methylation; D009154:Mutation; D009857:Oncogenes; D011336:Probability; D012323:RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004247:DNA