scholarly journals Sirtuins, Bioageing, and Cancer

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. McGuinness ◽  
D. H. McGuinness ◽  
J. A. McCaul ◽  
P. G. Shiels

The Sirtuins are a family of orthologues of yeast Sir2 found in a wide range of organisms from bacteria to man. They display a high degree of conservation between species, in both sequence and function, indicative of their key biochemical roles. Sirtuins are heavily implicated in cell cycle, cell division, transcription regulation, and metabolism, which places the various family members at critical junctures in cellular metabolism. Typically, Sirtuins have been implicated in the preservation of genomic stability and in the prolongation of lifespan though many of their target interactions remain unknown. Sirtuins play key roles in tumourigenesis, as some have tumour-suppressor functions and others influence tumours through their control of the metabolic state of the cell. Their links to ageing have also highlighted involvement in various age-related and degenerative diseases. Here, we discuss the current understanding of the role of Sirtuins in age-related diseases while taking a closer look at their roles and functions in maintaining genomic stability and their influence on telomerase and telomere function.

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1286-1287
Author(s):  
Heide Schatten ◽  
Christopher N. Hueser ◽  
Amitabha Chakrabarti

The formation of abnormal mitosis associated with cancer has been intriguing for many decades. While microtubules had been the focus of previous studies, recent research has focused on centrosomes, microtubule organizing centers which organize the mitotic apparatus during cell division. During normal mitosis centrosomes form two poles but in cancer, centrosomes can form three, four, or more poles, and organize tripolar, quadripolar, and multipolar mitoses, respectively. This has severe consequences for genomic stability because chromosomes are separated unequally to three, four, or more poles. This can result in aneuploidy and gene amplifications with multiple defects in cellular regulation. It can result in malignancy that is accompanied by cell cycle imbalances and abnormal cell proliferation. While radiation and chemical agents are known to damage DNA and can lead to cell cycle abnormalities, the damage of centrosome structure leading to abnormal mitosis deserves also consideration.


Author(s):  
Anders Liljas ◽  
Suparna Sanyal

Abstract The large ribosomal subunit has a distinct feature, the stalk, extending outside the ribosome. In bacteria it is called the L12 stalk. The base of the stalk is protein uL10 to which two or three dimers of proteins bL12 bind. In archea and eukarya P1 and P2 proteins constitute the stalk. All these extending proteins, that have a high degree of flexibility due to a hinge between their N- and C-terminal parts, are essential for proper functionalization of some of the translation factors. The role of the stalk proteins has remained enigmatic for decades but is gradually approaching an understanding. In this review we summarise the knowhow about the structure and function of the ribosomal stalk till date starting from the early phase of ribosome research.


2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
C. TOMAS-ZAPICO ◽  
E. IGLESIAS-GUTIERREZ ◽  
B. FERNANDEZ-GARCIA ◽  
D. DE GONZALO-CALVO

Severe oxidative stress is a relevant risk factor for major deleterious health-related events in olderpeople and is thought to be an important contributor to age-related disease. Literature has suggested oxidativestress as a therapeutic target for mitigating the biological decline and attenuating the occurrence of adverseclinical events in aged individuals. However, definitive treatments are not known. Regular and moderate physicalactivity has been proposed as possible intervention for slowing age-related decline. This healthy strategy presentsa wide range of beneficial aspects for elderly, from the reduction of morbidity, disability, frailty and mortalityrates to treatment of many age-related disorders. Importantly, the global benefits on health are not shared by anyother strategies. Nevertheless, the physiological basis by which exercise produces its benefits to the organism isnot fully understood. This review summarizes the evidence for the role of physical activity as potential healthyintervention for mitigating the negative aspects of aging through the modulation of the oxidative mechanisms.


Author(s):  
Ana-Maria Pascal

This chapter explores the moral aspects of commercial deals that allegedly democratic governments enter into with foreign investors. These are discussed against a twofold theoretical background – where the philosophical ideal of public ethics based on truth and transparency meets business ethics theories. The Kantian ethics of duty proves to be the key link between these, as particularly relevant for cases where the impact on a wide range of stakeholders is considerable. The main case under consideration is the controversial USD $2 billion Romanian mining project at Rosia Montana, which highlights the need for accountability mentioned above and lends itself well to a multi-fold business ethics analysis. The role of the civil society in effectively stopping the project is a good illustration of the stakeholder theory. The chapter concludes with the thesis that a high degree of socio-political responsibility may be best achieved when trying to combine principle-based and utilitarian thinking.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1586
Author(s):  
Salinee Jantrapirom ◽  
Luca Lo Piccolo ◽  
Dumnoensun Pruksakorn ◽  
Saranyapin Potikanond ◽  
Wutigri Nimlamool

Ubiquilins or UBQLNs, members of the ubiquitin-like and ubiquitin-associated domain (UBL-UBA) protein family, serve as adaptors to coordinate the degradation of specific substrates via both proteasome and autophagy pathways. The UBQLN substrates reveal great diversity and impact a wide range of cellular functions. For decades, researchers have been attempting to uncover a puzzle and understand the role of UBQLNs in human cancers, particularly in the modulation of oncogene’s stability and nucleotide excision repair. In this review, we summarize the UBQLNs’ genetic variants that are associated with the most common cancers and also discuss their reliability as a prognostic marker. Moreover, we provide an overview of the UBQLNs networks that are relevant to cancers in different ways, including cell cycle, apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, DNA repairs and miRNAs. Finally, we include a future prospective on novel ubiquilin-based cancer therapies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 5236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Ferri ◽  
Emanuele Marzetti ◽  
Riccardo Calvani ◽  
Anna Picca ◽  
Matteo Cesari ◽  
...  

Skeletal muscle aging is associated with a significant loss of skeletal muscle strength and power (i.e., dynapenia), muscle mass and quality of life, a phenomenon known as sarcopenia. This condition affects nearly one-third of the older population and is one of the main factors leading to negative health outcomes in geriatric patients. Notwithstanding the exact mechanisms responsible for sarcopenia are not fully understood, mitochondria have emerged as one of the central regulators of sarcopenia. In fact, there is a wide consensus on the assumption that the loss of mitochondrial integrity in myocytes is the main factor leading to muscle degeneration. Mitochondria are also key players in senescence. It has been largely proven that the modulation of mitochondrial functions can induce the death of senescent cells and that removal of senescent cells improves musculoskeletal health, quality, and function. In this review, the crosstalk among mitochondria, cellular senescence, and sarcopenia will be discussed with the aim to elucidate the role that the musculoskeletal cellular senescence may play in the onset of sarcopenia through the mediation of mitochondria.


1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Sgambato ◽  
Giovanna Flamini ◽  
Achille Cittadini ◽  
I. Bernard Weinstein

Recent studies indicate that the functions of several genes that control the cell cycle are altered during the carcinogenic process and that these changes perturb both cell proliferation and genomic stability, thus promoting cell transformation and enhancing the process of tumor progression. The purpose of this paper is to review current information on the role of cyclins and related genes in the control of the mammalian cell cycle, the types of abnormalities in these genes found in human tumors and the possible clinical implications of these findings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 81-85
Author(s):  
Maria Borja-Gonzalez ◽  
Jose C. Casas-Martinez ◽  
Brian McDonagh ◽  
Katarzyna Goljanek-Whysall
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Alisoun Milne

Despite much emphasis on mental illness in later life, limited work has focused on mental health. This book aims to address this deficit by exploring, and explaining, mental health outcomes in later life through the lens of critical social gerontology and via the conduit of life course analysis. It adopts an approach underpinned by a commitment to understanding, and making visible, the role of lifecourse, and age related inequalities in creating or amplifying risks to mental health, as well as exploring those issues that afford protection. It aims to offer a critical review of existing discourse and disrupt the ‘taken for granted’ paradigm, including in the dementia arena. This approach not only recognises that mental health in later life is a complex multi-dimensional issue that cuts across time, cohort, social categories and individual experiences but that it is affected by a wide range of lifecourse and age related issues. It also encourages the development of understanding that adopts a wide lens of analysis and of policy and service related responses that reduce risks to mental health during the lifecourse and in later life itself. Further, it engages with the potential to learn from older people’s perspectives and lives.


1986 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 926-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. M. Wenman ◽  
R. U. Meuser ◽  
P. M. Wallis

Giardia duodenalis is a common intestinal parasite in most parts of the world. In Canada it is associated with both endemic and epidemic infections that are often transmitted by the waterborne route. Although G. duodenalis strains have been isolated from several animals, the role of other mammals in human infection is unclear. We have isolated and cultured G. duodenalis trophozoites from domestic and wild animals in Alberta and compared them with a human isolate by protein gel electrophoresis and immunoblot analysis. All strains examined share a similar polypeptide profile and important protein antigens. Prominent antigens of 62, 52, 38, and 31 kilodaltons are conserved. The 52- and 31-kilodalton proteins are the major surface-exposed trophozoite components. The high degree of antigenic sharing among strains from different hosts suggests that there may be a wide range of potential reservoirs for G. duodenalis infections.


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