Unearthing Loci that influence life span.
It is known that certain hormones are involved in determining longevity (for example, insulin and insulin-like growth factor). Results presented in a paper published in this week's issue of Science allow us to add steroid hormones to this list. Anne Simon and colleagues show for the first time that a sterol hormone--ecdysone of the fly Drosophila melanogaster--regulates life span. In this Perspective, I discuss the implications of this result in the context of gene regulation and mechanisms of aging.
Tatar
Marc
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Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA. marc_tatar@Brown.edu
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology*; D004440:Ecdysone / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000502:physiology; D008136:Longevity / Q000502:physiology*; D011987:Receptors, Steroid / Q000502:physiology; D013002:Somatomedins / Q000502:physiology
D007328:Insulin; D011987:Receptors, Steroid; D013002:Somatomedins; C055469:ecdysone receptor; D004440:Ecdysone