Potential biomarkers of ageing

2008 ◽  
Vol 389 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Simm ◽  
Norbert Nass ◽  
Babett Bartling ◽  
Britt Hofmann ◽  
Rolf-Edgar Silber ◽  
...  

AbstractLife span in individual humans is very heterogeneous. Thus, the ageing rate, measured as the decline of functional capacity and stress resistance, is different in every individual. There have been attempts made to analyse this individual age, the so-called biological age, in comparison to chronological age. Biomarkers of ageing should help to characterise this biological age and, as age is a major risk factor in many degenerative diseases, could be subsequently used to identify individuals at high risk of developing age-associated diseases or disabilities. Markers based on oxidative stress, protein glycation, inflammation, cellular senescence and hormonal deregulation are discussed.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Sum Chan ◽  
Matthew Arnold ◽  
Alison Offer ◽  
Imen Hammami ◽  
Marion Mafham ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundAge is the strongest risk factor for most chronic diseases, and yet individuals may age at different rates biologically. A biological age formed from biomarkers may be a stronger risk factor than chronological age and understanding what factors contribute to it could provide insight into new opportunities for disease prevention.Methods and findingsAmong 480,019 UK Biobank participants aged 40-70 recruited in 2006-2010 and followed up for 6-12 years via linked death registry and secondary care records, a subpopulation of 141,254 (29.4%) non-smoking adults in good health and with no medication use or disease history at baseline were identified. Independent components of 72 biomarkers measured at baseline were characterised by principal component analysis. The Klemera Doubal method (KDM), which derived a weighted sum of biomarker principal components based on the strengths of their linear associations with chronological age, was used to derive sex-specific biological ages in this healthy subpopulation. The proportions of the overall biological and chronological age effects on mortality, coronary heart disease and age-related non-fatal hospital admissions (based on a hospital frailty index) that were explained by biological age were assessed using log-likelihoods of proportional hazards models.Reduced lung function, reduced kidney function, slower reaction time, lower insulin-like-growth factor 1, lower hand grip strength and higher blood pressure were key contributors to biological age (explaining the highest percentages of its variance) in both men and women, while lower albumin, higher sex hormone-binding globulin and lower muscle mass in men, and higher liver enzymes, blood lipids and HbA1c in women were also important. Across both sexes, a 51-principal component biological age explained 66%, 80% and 63% of the age effects on mortality, coronary heart disease and hospital admissions, respectively. Restricting the biological age to the 12-13 key biomarkers corresponding to the 10 most importantly contributing principal components resulted in little change in these proportions for women, but a reduction to 53%, 63% and 50%, respectively, for men.ConclusionsThis study identified that markers of impaired function in a range of organs account for a substantial proportion of the apparent effect of age on disease and hospital admissions. It supports a broader, multi-system approach to research and prevention of diseases of ageing.


2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nivedita M. Jangale ◽  
Prasad P. Devarshi ◽  
Sneha B. Bansode ◽  
Mahesh J. Kulkarni ◽  
Abhay M. Harsulkar

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (18) ◽  
pp. 6265-6272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Nachin ◽  
Ulf Nannmark ◽  
Thomas Nyström

ABSTRACT The universal stress protein (UspA) superfamily encompasses a conserved group of proteins that are found in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. Escherichia coli harbors six usp genes—uspA, -C, -D, -E, -F, and -G—the expression of which is triggered by a large variety of environmental insults. The uspA gene is important for survival during cellular growth arrest, but the exact physiological role of the Usp proteins is not known. In this work we have performed phenotypic characterization of mutants with deletions of the six different usp genes. We report on hitherto unknown functions of these genes linked to motility, adhesion, and oxidative stress resistance, and we show that usp functions are both overlapping and distinct. Both UspA and UspD are required in the defense against superoxide-generating agents, and UspD appears also important in controlling intracellular levels of iron. In contrast, UspC is not involved in stress resistance or iron metabolism but is essential, like UspE, for cellular motility. Electron microscopy demonstrates that uspC and uspE mutants are devoid of flagella. In addition, the function of the uspC and uspE genes is linked to cell adhesion, measured as FimH-mediated agglutination of yeast cells. While the UspC and UspE proteins promote motility at the expense of adhesion, the UspF and UspG proteins exhibit the exact opposite effects. We suggest that the Usp proteins have evolved different physiological functions that reprogram the cell towards defense and escape during cellular stress.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Liu ◽  
Anteun de Groot ◽  
Sjef Boeren ◽  
Tjakko Abee ◽  
Eddy J. Smid

Vitamin K2 is an important vitamin for human health. Vitamin K2 enrichment in the human diet is possible by using vitamin K2-producing bacteria such as Lactococcus lactis in food fermentations. Based on previous observations that aerated cultivation conditions improved vitamin K2 content in L. lactis, we performed laboratory evolution on L. lactis MG1363 by cultivating this strain in a shake flask in a sequential propagation regime with transfers to a fresh medium every 72h. After 100 generations of propagation, we selected three evolved strains that showed improved stationary phase survival in oxygenated conditions. In comparison to the original strain MG1363, the evolved strains showed 50–110% increased vitamin K2 content and exhibited high resistance against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress. Genome sequencing of the evolved strains revealed common mutations in the genes ldh and gapB. Proteomics analysis revealed overproduction of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GapA), universal stress protein A2 (UspA2), and formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (MutM) under aerated conditions in evolved strains, proteins with putative functions in redox reactions, universal stress response, and DNA damage repair, all of which could contribute to the enhanced oxidative stress resistance. The mechanisms underlying elevated vitamin K2 content in the evolved strains remain to be elucidated. Two out of the three evolved strains performed similar to the original strain MG1363 in terms of growth and acidification of culture media. In conclusion, this study demonstrated a natural selection approach without genetic manipulations to obtain vitamin K2 overproducers that are highly relevant for food applications and contributed to the understanding of oxidative stress resistance in L. lactis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 818-819
Author(s):  
Morgan Levine

Abstract While chronological age is arguably the strongest risk factor for death, disease, and disability, same-aged individuals remain heterogeneous in their susceptibilities to these various outcomes. One explanation is that chronological age is an imperfect proxy of the degree of biological aging an individual has undergone. Thus, defining measurable estimates of ‘biological age’ (in contrast to chronological age) has become a major initiative in Geroscience research. Such biomarkers of aging, or ‘aging clocks’ will 1) help identify underlying mechanisms of aging, 2) enable identification of at-risk individuals prior to disease onset, and 3) provide outcomes to assess efficacy of interventions. In this session, I will describe the various aging clocks, how they were developed, and what they track. I will also describe how aging clocks can facilitate research both within and outside of the biological sciences.


2014 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 430-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonis Vlassopoulos ◽  
Michael E. J. Lean ◽  
Emilie Combet

Protein glycation has been studied for over a century now and plays an important role in disease pathogenesis throughout the lifecycle. Strongly related to diabetic complications, glycation of Hb has become the gold standard method for diabetes diagnosis and monitoring. It is however attracting attention in normoglycaemia as well lately. Longitudinal studies increasingly suggest a positive relationship between glycation and the risk of chronic diseases in normoglycaemic individuals, but the mechanisms behind this association remain unclear. The interaction between glycation and oxidative stress may be particularly relevant in the normoglycaemic context, as suggested by recent epidemiological and in vitro evidence. In that context nutritional and lifestyle factors with an influence on redox status, such as smoking, fruit and vegetable and antioxidants consumption, may have the capacity to promote or inhibit glycation. However, experimental data from controlled trials are lacking the quality and rigour needed to reach firm conclusions. In the present review, we discuss the importance of glycation for health through the lifecycle and focus on the importance of oxidative stress as a driver for glycation. The importance of nutrition to modulate glycation is discussed, based on the evidence available and recommendations towards higher quality future research are made.


2004 ◽  
Vol 71 ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ascan Warnholtz ◽  
Maria Wendt ◽  
Michael August ◽  
Thomas Münzel

Endothelial dysfunction in the setting of cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic smoking, as well as in the setting of heart failure, has been shown to be at least partly dependent on the production of reactive oxygen species in endothelial and/or smooth muscle cells and the adventitia, and the subsequent decrease in vascular bioavailability of NO. Superoxide-producing enzymes involved in increased oxidative stress within vascular tissue include NAD(P)H-oxidase, xanthine oxidase and endothelial nitric oxide synthase in an uncoupled state. Recent studies indicate that endothelial dysfunction of peripheral and coronary resistance and conductance vessels represents a strong and independent risk factor for future cardiovascular events. Ways to reduce endothelial dysfunction include risk-factor modification and treatment with substances that have been shown to reduce oxidative stress and, simultaneously, to stimulate endothelial NO production, such as inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme or the statins. In contrast, in conditions where increased production of reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide, in vascular tissue is established, treatment with NO, e.g. via administration of nitroglycerin, results in a rapid development of endothelial dysfunction, which may worsen the prognosis in patients with established coronary artery disease.


Author(s):  
Shuyi Hou ◽  
Jiaqin Zhang ◽  
Xiaobo Ma ◽  
Qiang Hong ◽  
Lili Fang ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Mani Iyer Prasanth ◽  
James Michael Brimson ◽  
Dicson Sheeja Malar ◽  
Anchalee Prasansuklab ◽  
Tewin Tencomnao

BACKGROUND: Streblus asper Lour., has been reported to have anti-aging and neuroprotective efficacies in vitro. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the anti-aging, anti-photoaging and neuroprotective efficacies of S. asper in Caenorhabditis elegans. METHODS: C. elegans (wild type and gene specific mutants) were treated with S. asper extract and analyzed for lifespan and other health benefits through physiological assays, fluorescence microscopy, qPCR and Western blot. RESULTS: The plant extract was found to increase the lifespan, reduce the accumulation of lipofuscin and modulate the expression of candidate genes. It could extend the lifespan of both daf-16 and daf-2 mutants whereas the pmk-1 mutant showed no effect. The activation of skn-1 was observed in skn-1::GFP transgenic strain and in qPCR expression. Further, the extract can extend the lifespan of UV-A exposed nematodes along with reducing ROS levels. Additionally, the extract also extends lifespan and reduces paralysis in Aβ transgenic strain, apart from reducing Aβ expression. CONCLUSIONS: S. asper was able to extend the lifespan and healthspan of C. elegans which was independent of DAF-16 pathway but dependent on SKN-1 and MAPK which could play a vital role in eliciting the anti-aging, anti-photoaging and neuroprotective effects, as the extract could impart oxidative stress resistance and neuroprotection.


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