Changes in the DNA methylation (DNAm) landscape have been implicated in aging and cellular senescence. To unravel the role of specific DNAm patterns in late-life survival, we performed genome-wide methylation profiling in nonagenarians (n=111) and determined the performance of the methylomic predictors and conventional risk markers in a longitudinal setting. The survival model containing only t...

Cushing's syndrome is due to excess cortisol secretion and is associated to increased mortality and severe morbidity that are not fully reversible despite biochemical control. The syndrome consists of a set of systemic manifestations similar to those found in aging. Chronic stress, which also causes hyperstimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, has been related to accelerated tel...

Introduction The 94th Annual Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds International Titisee Conference brought scientists from around the world together to discuss recent progress in studies of the basic biology of ageing (biogerontology). The field of biogerontology has seen a marked growth in scientific and popular interest over the past few years, leading to an influx of new investigators working on diver...

Aging in the hematopoietic system and the stem cell niche contributes to aging-associated phenotypes of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), including leukemia and aging-associated immune remodeling. Among others, the DNA damage theory of aging of HSCs is well established, based on the detection of a significantly larger amount of γH2AX foci and a higher tail moment in the comet assay, both initial...

The interaction between T cells and the central nervous system (CNS) in homeostasis and injury has been recognized being both pathogenic (CD4+ T-helper 1 - Th1, Th17 and γδT) and ameliorative (Th2 and regulatory T cells - Tregs). However, in-depth studies aimed to elucidate the precise in the aged microenvironment and the dichotomous role of Tregs have just begun and many aspects remain unclear...

The current investigation examined the association between the aging-related biomarkers dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and telomere length (TL) in community-recruited African-American youth. The examination of DHEA included stress reactive, basal and diurnal sampling, in order to elucidate the underlying physiological process that may overlap with TL. One hundred and two participants completed t...

Immunosenescence is viewed as a remodeling process with the exhaustion of naïve T cells and filling up of the immunological space with memory cells. In this study some phenotypic changes of CD8(+) human cells during in vivo ageing were compared with those observed in long term cultures of lymphocytes derived from cord blood or from peripheral blood from donors of different age. Both in vivo and...

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has become a popular model in aging studies, on the basis of the assumption that the limited capacity for budding of individual yeast cells is a consequence of their accumulation of a “senescence factor“. However, the molecular nature of the yeast “senescence factor“ has not been unequivocally elucidated, and results of yeast aging studies do not corre...

OBJECTIVE Advanced age is a major risk factor for ventricular dysfunction and reduction of cardiac reserve. Finding novel approaches to prevent and attenuate heart dysfunction associated with advanced age is a major therapeutic challenge. The present study was designed to test whether engrafted embryonic stem cells could improve myocardial function in aging hearts. METHODS Cultured mouse embr...

OBJECTIVE Liver cancer severely threatens public health. Molecular targeted treatment is the further of cancer treatment. The functional role of Sir-related enzymes 4 (sirtuin 4) in treating liver cancer still requires further investigation. This study aimed to elucidate the effect of sirtuin 4 on aging of SMCC7721 liver cancer cell line, to underlying molecular mechanism and potential applicat...