Search results for " aging"

Gut microbiota and aging-A focus on centenarians.

2020

Gut microbiota (GM) is a dynamic organ throughout the lifespan. Aging is a complex process that comprises a plethora of mechanisms such as senescence, immunosenescence and inflammaging, representing important pathways of age-related diseases. GM structure could both influence and be influenced by aging occurring changes within the host. A unique category of long living individuals exists, namely centenarians that have the outstanding capacity to adapt to various challenges. Longevity seems to be associated with certain GM which, among other factors, might render individuals more resistant to age-related diseases and subsequently to long living. Diet, prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics ma…

Diagnostic and Prognostic Relevance of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width for Vascular Aging and Cardiovascular Diseases.

2019

Evidence suggests association of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). On the contrary, we underline that the sole RDW values cannot represent a valid CVD biomarker. High RDW values are expression of biological effects of a lot of both endogenous and exogenous factors (i.e., age, sex, genetic background, inflammation, hormones, drugs, diet, exercise, hematological analyzers, and ranges of values), modulating the biology and physiology of erythrocytes. Thus, the singular monitoring of RDW cannot be used to predict cardiovascular disorders. Accordingly, we have reviewed the evidence for potential relationship of RDW values with alterations in the cardiov…

Early life infection and host senescence

2018

IF 3.224 (2017); International audience; Advanced age is often associated with a chronic inflammatory status and inflammatory diseases. It has been suggested that exposure to infectious agents that stimulate the inflammatory response at early ages might have carry over effects in terms of accelerated senescence and increased mortality at late ages. However, not all pathogens and parasites have pro-inflammatory effects. In particular, parasitic nematodes have been shown to dampen the inflammatory response and to prevent or alleviate the symptoms of inflammatory diseases. We, therefore, tentatively predicted that early infection with a parasite that has anti-inflammatory properties might post…

Telomere Length Determines TERRA and R-Loop Regulation through the Cell Cycle

2017

Maintenance of a minimal telomere length is essential to prevent cellular senescence. When critically short telomeres arise in the absence of telomerase, they can be repaired by homology-directed repair (HDR) to prevent premature senescence onset. It is unclear why specifically the shortest telomeres are targeted for HDR. We demonstrate that the non-coding RNA TERRA accumulates as HDR-promoting RNA-DNA hybrids (R-loops) preferentially at very short telomeres. The increased level of TERRA and R-loops, exclusively at short telomeres, is due to a local defect in RNA degradation by the Rat1 and RNase H2 nucleases, respectively. Consequently, the coordination of TERRA degradation with telomere r…

Ageing: from inflammation to cancer.

2018

Abstract Ageing is the major risk factor for cancer development. Hallmark of the ageing process is represented by inflammaging, which is a chronic and systemic low-grade inflammatory process. Inflammation is also a hallmark of cancer and is widely recognized to influence all cancer stages from cell transformation to metastasis. Therefore, inflammaging may represent the biological phenomena able to couple ageing process with cancer development. Here we review the molecular and cellular pathway involved in age-related chronic inflammation along with its potential triggers and their connection with cancer development.

Innate and Adaptive Immunity in Aging and Longevity: The Foundation of Resilience

2020

The interrelation of the processes of immunity and senescence now receives an unprecedented emphasis during the COVID-19 pandemic, which brings to the fore the critical need to combat immunosenescence and improve the immune function and resilience of older persons. Here we review the historical origins and the current state of the science of innate and adaptive immunity in aging and longevity. From the modern point of view, innate and adaptive immunity are not only affected by aging but also are important parts of its underlying mechanisms. Excessive levels or activity of antimicrobial peptides, C-reactive protein, complement system, TLR/NF-κB, cGAS/STING/IFN 1,3 and AGEs/RAGE pathways, mye…

CENTENARIANS TRANSCRIPTOME IS UNIQUE AND REVEALS A ROLE OF BCL-XL IN SUCCESSFUL AGING

2017

Centenarians not only enjoy an extraordinary aging, but also show a compression of morbidity. We identified 1721 mRNAs differentially expressed by PMBCs from centenarians when compared with septuagenarians and young people. Sub-network analysis led us to identify Bcl-xL as an important gene up-regulated in centenarians. We found that centenarians display lower plasma cytochrome C levels, higher mitochondrial membrane potential and also less cellular damage accumulation. Immune function is significantly impaired in septuagenarians compared with young people whereas centenarians maintain it. To further ascertain the functional role of Bcl-xL in cellular aging, we found in transduced lymphocyt…

2019

Mediterranean diet (MD) is the most relevant nutritional aspect of the multisecular Mediterranean civilisation which includes wine as an element of health and wellbeing when consumed with moderation. Mediterranean meals provide food micronutrients which include polyphenols, especially resveratrol from grape and red wine. MD, also called Cretan diet, has been proven to prevent diseases including cardiovascular pathologies, cancer, and to prevent aging. Interestingly, the grape and more precisely in grape skin contains the highest concentration of RSV. In consequence, red wine is the most concentrated food source of RSV found in the human diet. This review topic deals to how efficient is RSV …

Changes in Serine Racemase-Dependent Modulation of NMDA Receptor: Impact on Physiological and Pathological Brain Aging

2018

International audience; The N-methyl-D-Aspartate glutamate receptors (NMDARs) are pivotal for the functional and morphological plasticity that are required in neuronal networks for efficient brain activities and notably for cognitive-related abilities. Because NMDARs are heterogeneous in subunit composition and associated with multiple functional regulatory sites, their efficacy is under the tonic influence of numerous allosteric modulations, whose dysfunction generally represents the first step generating pathological states. Among the enzymatic candidates, serine racemase (SR) has recently gathered an increasing interest considering that it tightly regulates the production of D-serine, an…

Physical Activity and Brain Health.

2019

Physical activity (PA) has been central in the life of our species for most of its history, and thus shaped our physiology during evolution. However, only recently the health consequences of a sedentary lifestyle, and of highly energetic diets, are becoming clear. It has been also acknowledged that lifestyle and diet can induce epigenetic modifications which modify chromatin structure and gene expression, thus causing even heritable metabolic outcomes. Many studies have shown that PA can reverse at least some of the unwanted effects of sedentary lifestyle, and can also contribute in delaying brain aging and degenerative pathologies such as Alzheimer’s Disease, diabetes, and multiple s…