Pedigree genetics and environment modulate the biological process of aging. The permanent and irreversible growth arrest of cell senescence is a central paradigm of aging. Various pathophysiologic pressures such as oxidative stress and mitochondrial injury can also induce senescence. Senescent cells secrete altered levels of growth factors, show increased susceptibility to apoptosis, and associ...

Accumulation of oxidatively altered cell components may play a role in the age-related cell deterioration and associated diseases. Caloric restriction is the most robust anti-aging intervention that extends lifespan and retards the appearance of age-associated diseases. Autophagy is a highly conserved cell-repair process in which the cytoplasm, including excess or aberrant organelles, is seques...

Aging and short photoperiod exposure induce germ cell apoptosis in the Syrian hamster; however, the specific germ cells affected and the molecular pathways triggered have not been elucidated. We analyzed germ cell apoptosis and the expression of the Fas/Fas-L system, Bcl-2 family, and p53 in aged and photoinhibited hamsters and compared with those young maintained in natural photoperiod. Aging ...

Aging-associated alterations of cellular functions have been implicated in various disorders including cancers. Due to difficulties in identifying aging cells in living tissues, most studies have focused on aging-associated changes in whole tissues or certain cell pools. Thus, it remains unclear what kinds of alterations accumulate in each cell during aging. While analyzing several mouse lines ...

We previously reported that heterozygous DNA methyltransferase 1-deficient (Dnmt1(+/-)) mice maintain T-cell immune function and DNA methylation levels with aging, whereas controls develop autoimmunity, immune senescence, and DNA hypomethylation. We therefore compared survival, cause of death, and T-cell DNA methylation gene expression during aging in Dnmt1(+/-) mice and controls. No difference...