Mechanisms of Aging
Mechanism of Aging
Aging is a syndrome that occurs as a result of changes that are progressive, deleterious, universal and therefore, irreversible. This aging damage occurs to the cells, molecules that forms the cells, and to the entire organ. The aging process is most commonly associated with old age diseases such as osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease among others; this is because such diseases are associated with degenerative effects experienced by the cells. Scientist have over the years substituted the word "aging" with "senescence" since aging means that when time elapses so does deterioration takes place which is false especially during the early developmental stage Mackenzie, Bussiere and Tinsley ( 21)
Various researches are being conducted to establish the mechanisms of aging, and as part of these research, experiments have been carried out on various living organism so as to shade more light on this concept. These organism include; humans, rodents, flies, worms and hydra. The criteria used to indicate senescence in these living organisms include;
The fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster ) and the nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans ) are the most common invertebrate species used in biological experiments since on reaching maturity both species are composed post-mitotic cells, except for the germ line.
Flies (Drosophila) have been found to have a natural antioxidant enzyme SuperOxide Dismutase (SOD) & CATalase (CAT), but no glutathione peroxidase Comfort
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This means they are one of the flies in the third category to have both extra genes that support extended lifespan. These transgenic flies have a 73% greater CAT activity, 26% greater SOD activity, and 34% longer lifespan. Unlike the transgenic mice which showed and increased lifespan by about 20% because of its 50 times higher mitochondrial catalase. In flies the gene named age-1 was found to increase its life span by a mean of about 65% and a maximum lifespan of 110% at a temperature of 25°C. As compared to the worms, when they are in their natural habitat (soil), they normally survive at an oxygen concentrations are 1% to 2%, so when the age-1 gene are brought out to a normal atmospheric oxygen concentration of about 21%, they are likely to improve in their longevity.
The flies also have the daf?23 DNA gene, which is in the same family as the daf?2 (DAuer Formation gene) found in worms, responsible for developmental arrest. The daf?2 DNA gene resembles the mammalian gene for the IGF1?1 receptor also known as Insulin-like Growth Factor?1 which is quite similar to insulin receptor Comfort ()
. Dauer gene plays a big role in the flies' larvae stage especially when there is low food availability. As exhibited in the various experiment conducted, dauer has the following characteristics; it is non-reproductive, non-feeding, and resistant to damage from extreme temperature, ionizing radiation, and free-radicals. These properties it exhibits helps it to reduce the aging process Nigam ( 616)
. Experiments have…
