MicroRNA predictors of longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Neither genetic nor environmental factors fully account for variability in individual longevity: genetically identical invertebrates in homogenous environments often experience no less variability in lifespan than outbred human populations. Such variability is often assumed to result from stochasticity in damage accumulation over time; however, the identification of early-life gene expression states that predict future longevity would suggest that lifespan is least in part epigenetically determined. Such "biomarkers of aging," genetic or otherwise, nevertheless remain rare. In this work, we sought early-life differences in organismal robustness in unperturbed individuals and examined the utility of microRNAs, known regulators of lifespan, development, and robustness, as aging biomarkers. W

SUBMITTER: Pincus Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3183074 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature