ATF4 activity: a common feature shared by many kinds of slow-aging mice

ATF4, a DNA-binding factor that modulates responses to amino acid availability and ribosomal function, has been shown to be altered in both liver and fibroblasts from two strains of long-lived mice, i.e. Snell dwarf and PAPP-A knockout mice. New data now show elevated ATF4 levels, and elevation of ATF4-dependent proteins and mRNAs, in liver of mice treated with acarbose or rapamycin, calorically restricted mice, methionine-restricted mice, and mice subjected to litter crowding. Elevation of ATF4, at least in liver, thus seems to be a shared feature of diets, drugs, genes, and developmental alterations that extend maximum lifespan in mice.