PubMed Health⌕ Search

PubMed · 16552414

Ageing and neuronal vulnerability.

Abstract

Everyone ages, but only some will develop a neurodegenerative disorder in the process. Disease might occur when cells fail to respond adaptively to age-related increases in oxidative, metabolic and ionic stress, thereby resulting in the accumulation of damaged proteins, DNA and membranes. Determinants of neuronal vulnerability might include cell size and location, metabolism of disease-specific proteins and a repertoire of signal transduction pathways and stress resistance mechanisms. Emerging evidence on protein interaction networks that monitor and respond to the normal ageing process suggests that successful neural ageing is possible for most people, but also cautions that cures for neurodegenerative disorders are unlikely in the near future.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Mark P Mattson, Tim Magnus. 2006. Ageing and neuronal vulnerability.. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1886

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

An open benchmark and language models for AI in aging biology.

Over the past two decades, human aging has been characterized across DNA methylation, transcriptomic, proteomic, and clinical modalities, yet no benchmark evaluates whether AI systems can interpret these heterogeneous data types in the context of aging biology. We introduce LongevityBench, an open suite of 17 tasks spanning five biodata domains, and use it to assess 18 frontier AI systems from six developer teams. Despite recent advances in AI, no single model dominates all tasks, with omics-based age prediction being the hardest task regardless of scale. To test whether these gaps can be closed without frontier-scale resources, we fine-tuned a family of five multitask Longevity-LLMs on domain-specific aging data. The compact (0.6B-9B parameters) Longevity-LLMs matched or exceeded far larger frontier systems on LongevityBench, showing that general-purpose language models can be adapted to structured-omics tasks. We publicly release the benchmark, models, and Longevity Claw, an agentic research interface for aging researchers.

Aging↗

Association between sirtuin 1 and markers of oxidative stress in master athletes.

BACKGROUND: Lifelong training in master athletes confers protective effects, promoting higher sirtuin levels and enhanced antioxidant capacity. Although Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is well studied, no previous study has examined the relationship between circulating SIRT1 levels and antioxidant defense variables in master athletes. PURPOSE: To compare and analyze the relationships between circulating levels of SIRT1 and variables related to antioxidant defense in master athletes (MA) and untrained middle-aged individuals (UMA). METHODS: Male MA (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;42; 51.62&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;7.33 years; &#x2265;10 years of training and competition in running) and UMA (n&#x2009;=&#x2009;15; 47.73&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;8.52 years) were evaluated. Venous blood samples were collected for biochemical analyses of SIRT1, antioxidant enzymes, TBARS and F2-isoprostanes, 8-OHdG, and redox balance indexes. RESULTS: MA showed higher levels of SIRT1 (18.22&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;4.53 vs. 6.08&#x2009;&#xb1;&#x2009;2.11 ng/mL; p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.0001), as well as of SOD, CAT, and GSH (p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.001), indicating a more favorable antioxidant profile. After adjustment for body fat percentage, differences in SOD, CAT, GSH and TBARS, remained significant. SIRT1 was positively correlated with SOD (r&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.279; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.031), CAT (r&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.485; p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.001), GSH (r&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.476; p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.001) and CAT/8-OHdG (r&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.430; p&#x2009;=&#x2009;0.032), and negatively correlated with TBARS (r&#x2009;=&#x2009;-&#x2009;0.518; p&#x2009;<&#x2009;0.001). CONCLUSION: Master athletes exhibited higher circulating SIRT1 concentrations and a more favorable systemic redox profile than untrained individuals, with SIRT1 being associated with markers of antioxidant defense, lipid peroxidation, and redox balance.

Aging↗

Decoding SUMOylation as a metabolic stress sensor in aging and age-related disorders: Mechanisms, tissue specificity and therapeutic potential.

SUMOylation is a reversible post-translational modification increasingly recognized for its role in coordinating cellular responses to metabolic stress during aging. Emerging evidence indicates that it functions beyond a conventional modification, representing an adaptive stress&#x2011;responsive regulatory network that integrates metabolic, oxidative, inflammatory, and proteotoxic signals. Rather than acting on isolated pathways, this network finely tunes mitochondrial function, proteostasis, genome maintenance, immune balance, and epigenetic regulation. Accumulating evidence indicates that SUMO-dependent regulation exhibits remarkable tissue specificity, supporting mitochondrial adaptation and contractile integrity in skeletal muscle, shaping lipid and glucose metabolism in the liver, modulating proteotoxic stress and neuronal resilience in the brain, and contributing to immune cell differentiation and chronic low-grade inflammation during aging. In this review, we summarize current mechanistic insights into SUMO signaling across aging-relevant tissues, with particular emphasis on its functional interplay with other post-translational modifications, including ubiquitination and acetylation. We discuss how SUMOylation operates as a shared regulatory layer while enabling context-dependent outcomes that underlie diverse aging phenotypes and age-related disorders. Finally, we evaluate emerging translational approaches-ranging from pharmacological modulation of SUMO enzymes to lifestyle interventions such as caloric restriction and exercise-that highlight both the opportunities and challenges of targeting SUMO-regulated stress responses in aging. Together, this synthesis provides a framework for understanding how SUMOylation links metabolic stress to tissue-specific aging trajectories and therapeutic potential.

Aging↗