Does anti-aging equal anti-microbial?
Aging is the dominant risk factor for human disease in developed countries. Could it be that a wide variety of disease states all have their origins in a common mechanism? Major signaling pathways that determine the rate of aging, such as the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) pathway, might give clues to the nature of this major disease risk factor. It has now been shown that insulin/IGF-1 signaling influences Caenorhabditis elegans resistance to bacteria in such a way that long-lived worms are stress-resistant and slow to succumb to infection. Perhaps enhanced innate immunity is a feature of genetically determined longevity.
Lithgow
Gordon J
GJ
Buck Institute for Age Research, Novato, CA 94945, USA. glithgow@buckinstitute.org
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D011972:Receptor, Insulin / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D007328:Insulin; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; C100662:AGE-1 protein, C elegans; C107483:DAF-2 protein, C elegans; D011972:Receptor, Insulin