PubMed · 12471266
Rates of behavior and aging specified by mitochondrial function during development.
Abstract
To explore the role of mitochondrial activity in the aging process, we have lowered the activity of the electron transport chain and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) synthase with RNA interference (RNAi) in Caenorhabditis elegans. These perturbations reduced body size and behavioral rates and extended adult life-span. Restoring messenger RNA to near-normal levels during adulthood did not elevate ATP levels and did not correct any of these phenotypes. Conversely, inhibiting respiratory-chain components during adulthood only did not reset behavioral rates and did not affect life-span. Thus, the developing animal appears to contain a regulatory system that monitors mitochondrial activity early in life and, in response, establishes rates of respiration, behavior, and aging that persist during adulthood.
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Andrew Dillin, Ao-Lin Hsu, Nuno Arantes-Oliveira, Joshua Lehrer-Graiwer, Honor Hsin, Andrew G Fraser, Ravi S Kamath, Julie Ahringer, Cynthia Kenyon. 2002-12-05. Rates of behavior and aging specified by mitochondrial function during development.. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1077780
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