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Nature 421, 125-126 (9 January 2003) | doi:10.1038/421125a
Physiology: Cost-free longevity in mice?
Gordon J. Lithgow & Matthew S. Gill
Abstract
Studies of worms have revealed hundreds of proteins that, when mutated, extend lifespan. Can this work tell us anything about mammalian ageing? A look at the effects of one such protein on lab mice suggests that it can.
Just over five years ago, molecular geneticists working with the microscopic worm Caenorhabditis elegans made an intriguing discovery1 about a protein that, when its activity is reduced, doubles the animal's lifespan2. They found that the protein — DAF-2 — is structurally similar to the human receptor proteins that allow cells to respond to insulin or insulin-like growth factors (IGF).
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