Rtg2 protein: at the nexus of yeast longevity and aging.
Firm support for the notion that metabolism and particularly mitochondrial metabolism plays a significant role in aging has been gathered in studies on yeast. As in other organisms, mitochondria contribute to aging through their propensity to generate reactive oxygen species. There is more to the involvement of mitochondria in aging than this, however. Mitochondrial dysfunction, which accumulates during aging, triggers the retrograde response, an intracellular signaling pathway that activates genes that compensate for this dysfunction. A key signaling protein in this pathway is the Rtg2 protein. Recent studies have provided evidence that this protein lies at the nexus of the four major processes that are involved in aging in yeast and in other organisms; namely, metabolism, stress resistance, chromatin-dependent gene regulation, and genome stability. The details of this central role of Rtg2 protein explain the delicate balance between longevity and aging, which ultimately must tip towards the latter. Phenomena that resemble the retrograde response appear to exist in human cells, with both common and cell type-specific gene expression changes as the output.
Jazwinski
S Michal
SM
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1901 Perdido St., P.O. Box P7-2, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. sjazwi@lsuhsc.edu
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000502:physiology*; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C079379:RTG2 protein, S cerevisiae; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins