From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Thu Sep 06 2001 - 08:16:50 MDT
The Longevity Meme news carried a pointer to a BBC article
that I followed back to the PNAS article (here):
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/191313598v1
Abstract:
> We present genome-wide microarray expression analysis of 11,000 genes in an
> aging potentially mitotic tissue, the liver. This organ has a major impact
> on health and homeostasis during aging. The effects of life- and
> health-span-extending caloric restriction (CR) on gene expression among
> young and old mice and between long-term CR (LT-CR) and short-term CR
> (ST-CR) were examined. This experimental design allowed us to accurately
> distinguish the effects of aging from those of CR on gene expression.
> Aging was accompanied by changes in gene expression associated with
> increased inflammation, cellular stress, and fibrosis, and reduced
> capacity for apoptosis, xenobiotic metabolism, normal cell-cycling,
> and DNA replication. LT-CR and just 4 weeks of ST-CR reversed the
> majority of these changes. LT-CR produced in young mice a pattern of
> gene expression that is a subset of the changes found in old LT-CR mice.
> It is possible that the early changes in gene expression, which extend
> into old age, are key to the life- and health-span-extending effects of CR.
> Further, ST-CR substantially shifted the "normo-aging" genomic profile of
> old control mice toward the "slow-aging" profile associated with LT-CR.
> Therefore, many of the genomic effects of CR are established rapidly.
> Thus, expression profiling should prove useful in quickly identifying CR-
> mimetic drugs and treatments.
This is the 2nd significant publication fullfilling my prediction from
1997 that gene chips would have a huge impact on understanding what
aging really is.
This is the first good evidence I'm aware of that short term CR has
positive effects by mimicing the changes caused by long term CR.
Robert
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