Editor's Summary

19 July 2007

Ageing and cancer linked

The tumour suppressor activities of p53 protein and its regulator, Arf, are based on their involvement in detecting and eliminating damaged cells. Like cancer, ageing is associated with the accumulation of cellular damage and starting from that premise, Matheu et al. show that mice with increased, but otherwise normally regulated, levels of p53 and Arf are not only resistant to cancers, but also have a longer lifespan than normal mice regardless of the effects of the cancer. Remarkably, biological and molecular markers of ageing indicate that these mice stay 'younger' longer. Boosting endogenous Arf/p53 activity appears to provide an anti-oxidant effect that both suppresses cancers and delays ageing.

Letter: Delayed ageing through damage protection by the Arf/p53 pathway

Ander Matheu, Antonio Maraver, Peter Klatt, Ignacio Flores, Isabel Garcia-Cao, Consuelo Borras, Juana M. Flores, Jose Viña, Maria A. Blasco & Manuel Serrano

doi:10.1038/nature05949

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