scholarly journals Maternal age alters offspring lifespan, fitness, and lifespan extension under caloric restriction

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J. Bock ◽  
George C. Jarvis ◽  
Emily L. Corey ◽  
Emily E. Stone ◽  
Kristin E. Gribble
Keyword(s):  
Caloric Restriction ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Maternal Investment ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Lifespan Extension ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Food Conditions

ABSTRACTMaternal age has a negative effect on offspring lifespan in a range of taxa and is hypothesized to influence the evolution of aging. However, the mechanisms of maternal age effects are unknown, and it remains unclear if maternal age alters offspring response to therapeutic interventions to aging. Here, we evaluate maternal age effects on offspring lifespan, reproduction, and the response to caloric restriction, and investigate maternal investment as a source of maternal age effects using the rotifer,Brachionus manjavacas, an aquatic invertebrate. We found that offspring lifespan and fecundity decline with increasing maternal age. Caloric restriction increases lifespan in all offspring, but the magnitude of lifespan extension is greater in the offspring from older mothers. The trade-off between reproduction and lifespan extension under low food conditions expected by life history theory is observed in young-mother offspring, but not in old-mother offspring. Age-related changes in maternal resource allocation to reproduction do not drive changes in offspring fitness or plasticity under caloric restriction inB. manjavacas. Our results suggest that the declines in reproduction in old-mother offspring negate the evolutionary fitness benefits of lifespan extension under caloric restriction.

scholarly journals How many cubs can a mum nurse? Maternal age and size influence litter size in polar bears

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 20190070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorinda Marie Folio ◽  
Jon Aars ◽  
Olivier Gimenez ◽  
Andrew E. Derocher ◽  
Øystein Wiig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Litter Size ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Maternal Investment ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Female Body Size ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Specific Variation ◽  
Size Heterogeneity

Life-history theory predicts that females' age and size affect the level of maternal investment in current reproduction, balanced against the future reproductive effort, maintenance and survival. Using long-term (30 years) individual data on 193 female polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ), we assessed age- and size-specific variation on litter size. Litter size varied with maternal age, younger females had higher chances of losing a cub during their first months of life. Results suggest an improvement in reproductive abilities early in life due to experience with subsequent reproductive senescence. Litter size increased with maternal size, indicating that size may reflect individual quality. We also found an optimum in the probability of having twins, suggesting stabilizing selection on female body size. Heterogeneity was observed among the largest females, suggesting that large size comes at a cost.

scholarly journals Maternal age alters offspring lifespan, fitness, and lifespan extension under caloric restriction

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha J. Bock ◽  
George C. Jarvis ◽  
Emily L. Corey ◽  
Emily E. Stone ◽  
Kristin E. Gribble
Keyword(s):  
Caloric Restriction ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Lifespan Extension

scholarly journals How many cubs can a mum raise? Maternal age and size influence litter size in polar bears

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorinda Marie Folio ◽  
Jon Aars ◽  
Olivier Gimenez ◽  
Andrew E. Derocher ◽  
Øystein Wiig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Litter Size ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Maternal Investment ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Maternal Size ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Specific Variation

AbstractLife history theory predicts that females’ age and size affect the level of maternal investment in current reproduction, balanced against future reproductive effort, maintenance and survival. Using long-term (30 years) individual data on 231 female polar bears (Ursus maritimus), we assessed age- and size-specific variation on litter size. Litter size varied with maternal age, younger females had higher chances of losing a cub during their first months of life. Results suggest an improvement of breeding abilities early in life due to experience with subsequent reproductive senescence. Litter size increased with maternal size, indicating that size may reflect individual quality. Heterogeneity was observed among the largest females, suggesting that large size comes at a cost. Maternal traits and environmental conditions may act together to influence reproductive success.

Parental breeding age effects on descendants’ longevity interact over two generations in matrilines and patrilines

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zac Wylde ◽  
Foteini Spagopoulou ◽  
Amy K Hooper ◽  
Alexei A Maklakov ◽  
Russell Bonduriansky
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Age ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Paternal Age ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Competitive Environment ◽  
Larval Diet ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Two Generations

Individuals within populations vary enormously in mortality risk and longevity, but the causes of this variation remain poorly understood. A potentially important and phylogenetically widespread source of such variation is maternal age at breeding, which typically has negative effects on offspring longevity. Here, we show that paternal age can affect offspring longevity as strongly as maternal age does, and that breeding age effects can interact over two generations in both matrilines and patrilines. We manipulated maternal and paternal ages at breeding over two generations in the neriid fly Telostylinus angusticollis. To determine whether breeding age effects can be modulated by the environment, we also manipulated larval diet and male competitive environment in the first generation. We found separate and interactive effects of parental and grandparental ages at breeding on descendants’ mortality rate and lifespan in both matrilines and patrilines. These breeding age effects were not modulated by grandparental larval diet quality or competitive environment. Our findings suggest that variation in maternal and paternal ages at breeding could contribute substantially to intra-population variation in mortality and longevity.

scholarly journals Five reasons COVID-19 is less severe in younger age groups

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W Turke
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Theory ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
System Function ◽  
The Third ◽  
Immune System Function ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Younger Age

Abstract The severity of COVID-19 is age-related, with the advantage going to younger age groups. Five reasons are presented. The first two are well-known, are being actively researched by the broader medical community, and therefore are discussed only briefly here. The third, fourth, and fifth reasons derive from evolutionary life history theory, and potentially fill gaps in current understanding of why and how young and old age groups respond differently to infection with SARS-CoV-2. Age of onset of generalized somatic aging, and the timing of its progression, are identified as important causes of these disparities, as are specific antagonistic pleiotropic tradeoffs in immune system function.

scholarly journals DNA methylation differs extensively between strains of the same geographical origin and changes with age in Daphnia magna

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Hearn ◽  
Fiona Plenderleith ◽  
Tom J. Little
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Caloric Restriction ◽  
Daphnia Magna ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Methylation Status ◽  
Strain Differences ◽  
Life History Trait ◽  
Food Level ◽  
Epigenetic Clock ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Background Patterns of methylation influence lifespan, but methylation and lifespan may also depend on diet, or differ between genotypes. Prior to this study, interactions between diet and genotype have not been explored together to determine their influence on methylation. The invertebrate Daphnia magna is an excellent choice for testing the epigenetic response to the environment: parthenogenetic offspring are identical to their siblings (making for powerful genetic comparisons), they are relatively short lived and have well-characterised inter-strain life-history trait differences. We performed a survival analysis in response to caloric restriction and then undertook a 47-replicate experiment testing the DNA methylation response to ageing and caloric restriction of two strains of D. magna. Results Methylated cytosines (CpGs) were most prevalent in exons two to five of gene bodies. One strain exhibited a significantly increased lifespan in response to caloric restriction, but there was no effect of food-level CpG methylation status. Inter-strain differences dominated the methylation experiment with over 15,000 differently methylated CpGs. One gene, Me31b, was hypermethylated extensively in one strain and is a key regulator of embryonic expression. Sixty-one CpGs were differentially methylated between young and old individuals, including multiple CpGs within the histone H3 gene, which were hypermethylated in old individuals. Across all age-related CpGs, we identified a set that are highly correlated with chronological age. Conclusions Methylated cytosines are concentrated in early exons of gene sequences indicative of a directed, non-random, process despite the low overall DNA methylation percentage in this species. We identify no effect of caloric restriction on DNA methylation, contrary to our previous results, and established impacts of caloric restriction on phenotype and gene expression. We propose our approach here is more robust in invertebrates given genome-wide CpG distributions. For both strain and ageing, a single gene emerges as differentially methylated that for each factor could have widespread phenotypic effects. Our data showed the potential for an epigenetic clock at a subset of age positions, which is exciting but requires confirmation.

scholarly journals Fighting Oxidative Stress with Sulfur: Hydrogen Sulfide in the Renal and Cardiovascular Systems

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 373
Author(s):  
Joshua J. Scammahorn ◽  
Isabel T. N. Nguyen ◽  
Eelke M. Bos ◽  
Harry Van Goor ◽  
Jaap A. Joles
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Hydrogen Sulfide ◽  
Redox Status ◽  
The Body ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Enzymatic Production ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Anti Oxidant ◽  
Enzymatic Pathways

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an essential gaseous signaling molecule. Research on its role in physiological and pathophysiological processes has greatly expanded. Endogenous enzymatic production through the transsulfuration and cysteine catabolism pathways can occur in the kidneys and blood vessels. Furthermore, non-enzymatic pathways are present throughout the body. In the renal and cardiovascular system, H2S plays an important role in maintaining the redox status at safe levels by promoting scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS). H2S also modifies cysteine residues on key signaling molecules such as keap1/Nrf2, NFκB, and HIF-1α, thereby promoting anti-oxidant mechanisms. Depletion of H2S is implicated in many age-related and cardiorenal diseases, all having oxidative stress as a major contributor. Current research suggests potential for H2S-based therapies, however, therapeutic interventions have been limited to studies in animal models. Beyond H2S use as direct treatment, it could improve procedures such as transplantation, stem cell therapy, and the safety and efficacy of drugs including NSAIDs and ACE inhibitors. All in all, H2S is a prime subject for further research with potential for clinical use.

Antioxidant activities and lipid peroxidation status in human follicular fluid: age-dependent change

Zygote ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
H. Debbarh ◽  
N. Louanjli ◽  
S. Aboulmaouahib ◽  
M. Jamil ◽  
L. Ahbbas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lipid Peroxidation ◽  
Follicular Fluid ◽  
Maternal Age ◽  
Antioxidant Activities ◽  
Human Follicular Fluid ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Group I ◽  
Group Ii ◽  
Scavenging Efficiency

Summary Maternal age is a significant factor influencing in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. Oxidative stress (OS) is one of the major causes of age-related cellular and molecular damage. The purpose of this work was to investigate the correlation between maternal age with intrafollicular antioxidants and OS markers in follicular fluid (FF), and also to determine the OS status in patients of advanced age. This study was a prospective study including 201 women undergoing IVF whose age was between 24 and 45 years old. FF samples were obtained from mature follicles at the time of oocyte retrieval. After treatment of FF, lipid peroxidation levels (MDA) and enzyme activities such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione (GSH) level were evaluated using spectrophotometry. The results indicated that the age cutoff point for increasing the MDA level was fixed at 37 years, allowing the study to be differentiated into two age groups. Group I included patients whose age was less than 37 years, and group II included patients whose age was greater than or equal 37 years. Statistical analysis revealed that MDA and GSH levels and GR activity were significantly higher in group II compared with group I. The SOD and CAT activities were significantly less in group II compared with group I. We concluded that from 37 years old a reproductive ageing was accompanied by a change in the antioxidant pattern in FF that impaired reactive oxygen species scavenging efficiency.

scholarly journals Genome and Epigenome Editing in Mechanistic Studies of Human Aging and Aging-Related Disease

Gerontology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cia-Hin Lau ◽  
Yousin Suh
Keyword(s):  
Animal Models ◽  
Genetic Manipulation ◽  
Logic Gate ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Human Aging ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Epigenome Editing ◽  
Related Disease ◽  
Age Related

The recent advent of genome and epigenome editing technologies has provided a new paradigm in which the landscape of the human genome and epigenome can be precisely manipulated in their native context. Genome and epigenome editing technologies can be applied to many aspects of aging research and offer the potential to develop novel therapeutics against age-related diseases. Here, we discuss the latest technological advances in the CRISPR-based genome and epigenome editing toolbox, and provide insight into how these synthetic biology tools could facilitate aging research by establishing in vitro cell and in vivo animal models to dissect genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying aging and age-related diseases. We discuss recent developments in the field with the aims to precisely modulate gene expression and dynamic epigenetic landscapes in a spatial and temporal manner in cellular and animal models, by complementing the CRISPR-based editing capability with conditional genetic manipulation tools including chemically inducible expression systems, optogenetics, logic gate genetic circuits, tissue-specific promoters, and the serotype-specific adeno-associated virus. We also discuss how the combined use of genome and epigenome editing tools permits investigators to uncover novel molecular pathways involved in the pathophysiology and etiology conferred by risk variants associated with aging and aging-related disease. A better understanding of the genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms underlying human aging and age-related disease will significantly contribute to the developments of new therapeutic interventions for extending health span and life span, ultimately improving the quality of life in the elderly populations.

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