Reproductive Aging Drives Protein Accumulation in the Uterus and Limits Lifespan in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Aging in Caenorhabditis elegans is characterized by widespread physiological and molecular changes, but the mechanisms that determine the rate at which these changes occur are not well understood. In this study, we identify a novel link between reproductive aging and somatic aging in C. elegans. By measuring global age-related changes in the proteome, we identify a previously uncharacterized group of secreted proteins in the adult uterus that dramatically increase in abundance with age. This accumulation is blunted in animals with an extended reproductive period and accelerated in sterile animals lacking a germline. Uterine proteins are not removed in old post-reproductive animals or in young vulvaless worms, indicating that egg-laying is necessary for their rapid removal in wild-type youn

SUBMITTER: Zimmerman SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4676719 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature