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DNA damage and ageing: new-age ideas for an age-old problem

Nature Cell Biology volume 10, pages 1241–1247 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Loss of genome maintenance may causally contribute to ageing, as exemplified by the premature appearance of multiple symptoms of ageing in a growing family of human syndromes and in mice with genetic defects in genome maintenance pathways. Recent evidence revealed a similarity between such prematurely ageing mutants and long-lived mice harbouring mutations in growth signalling pathways. At first sight this seems paradoxical as they represent both extremes of ageing yet show a similar 'survival' response that is capable of delaying age-related pathology and extending lifespan. Understanding the mechanistic basis of this response and its connection with genome maintenance would open exciting possibilities for counteracting cancer or age-related diseases, and for promoting longevity.

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Figure 1: Schematic representation of 'stochastic damage' and the connection with ageing and longevity assurance mechanisms.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) through the foundation of the Research Institute Diseases of the Elderly, as well as grants from SenterNovem IOP-Genomics (IGE03009), NIH (1PO1 AG17242-02), NIEHS (1UO1 ES011044), EC (QRTL-1999-02002), and the Dutch Cancer Society (EUR 99-2004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. George A. Garinis was in the Department of Genetics, Centre for Biomedical Genetics, Erasmus University Medical Centre and is now at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, FORTH, Vassilika Vouton, P.O.Box 1385, GR 711 10 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.,

    George A. Garinis, Gijsbertus T.J. van der Horst & Jan H.J. Hoeijmakers

  2. Gijsbertus T.J. van der Horst and Jan H.J. Hoeijmakers are in the Department of Genetics, Centre for Biomedical Genetics, Erasmus University Medical Centre, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands.,

    Jan Vijg

  3. USA and is now in the Department of Genetics, Jan Vijg was at the Buck Institute for Aging Research, 8001 Redwood Blvd, Novato, CA 94945, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1301 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461-1926, USA.,

    George A. Garinis

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Correspondence to Jan H.J. Hoeijmakers.

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Garinis, G., van der Horst, G., Vijg, J. et al. DNA damage and ageing: new-age ideas for an age-old problem. Nat Cell Biol 10, 1241–1247 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1108-1241

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