title: AF-1 a novel regulator of the redox equilibrium during aging.
abstract: Multicellular organisms generally undergo qualitative changes within time that are associated with progressive degeneration of biological functions, increased susceptibility to diseases, and increased probability to die within a given time period (aging). One of the major factors contributing to aging is accumulation of oxidative damage. We show that Aging Factor-1 (AF-1) negatively influences the redox balance during aging. AF-1 expression is greatly enhanced in various human cell types of aged individuals which leads to decreased stress resistance towards oxidative damage. We used Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model system. Functional knockdown of AF-1 in Drosophila melanogaster reveals a gender-specific effect on lifespan. Whereas female flies show a prolonged healthy lifespan, males show no difference (or even a shortened lifespan). Altogether our data suggest AF-1 expression during aging to be a mechanism that affects healthy aging and age-related stress resistance depending on the gender of the fly.
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), Division of Immunogenetics (D030), Germany. Electronic address: j.bajorat@dkfz.de.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bajorat
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), Division of Immunogenetics (D030), Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oberacker
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), Division of Immunogenetics (D030), Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ziola
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), Zentrum für Molekulare Biologie der Universität Heidelberg (ZMBH) Allianz, Division of Cell Growth and Proliferation (A220), Germany.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Edgar
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), Division of Immunogenetics (D030), Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gülow
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center Heidelberg (DKFZ), Division of Immunogenetics (D030), Germany.
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Krammer