Systems biology of aging in four species.
Using DNA microarrays to generate transcriptional profiles of the aging process is a powerful tool for identifying biomarkers of aging. In Caenorhabditis elegans, a number of whole-genome profiling studies identified genes that change expression levels with age. High-throughput RNAi screens in worms determined a number of genes that modulate lifespan when silenced. Transcriptional profiling of the fly head identified a molecular pathway, the 'response to light' gene set, that increases expression with age and could be directly related to the tendency for a reduction in light levels to extend fly's lifespan. In mouse, comparing the gene expression profiles of several drugs to the gene expression profile of caloric restriction identified metformin as a drug whose action could potentially mimic caloric restriction in vivo. Finally, genes in the mitochondrial electron transport chain group decrease expression with age in the human, mouse, fly, and worm.
Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Jacob M
JM
Zahn
Stuart K
SK
Kim
D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*