1 4115 100 MECHANISMS OF AGING OF THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX: ROLE OF THE ELASTIN-LAMININ RECEPTOR. AGING OF CONNECTIVE TISSUES IS IMPORTANT FOR THE UNDERSTANDING OF AGING MECHANISMS OF TISSUES RICH IN EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX AND OF AGE-DEPENDENT DISEASES OFTEN AFFECTING SUCH TISSUES. AGING MECHANISMS OF SUCH TISSUES CAN BE DIVIDED AS FOLLOWS: (1) AGE-DEPENDENT MODIFICATIONS OF MATRIX BIOSYNTHESIS; (2) POSTSYNTHETIC MODIFICATIONS OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX, AND (3) MODIFICATIONS OF CELL-MATRIX INTERACTIONS. EXAMPLES ARE DISCUSSED FOR ALL THREE ASPECTS OF TISSUE AGING, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC REACTIONS. THESE REACTIONS INCLUDE THE MAILLARD REACTION, UNCONTROLLED PROTEOLYTIC DEGRADATION, AND FREE RADICAL RELEASE. PROTEOLYTIC FRAGMENTS OF FIBRONECTIN AND OF ELASTIC FIBERS WERE SHOWN TO PRODUCE NOXIOUS EFFECTS AND TO BE ENGAGED IN VICIOUS CIRCLES OF AUTOENTERTAINED AND SELF-AMPLIFIED MECHANISMS. WE STUDIED IN PARTICULAR THE ROLE OF THE ELASTIN-LAMININ RECEPTOR IN TISSUE AGING AND IN ATHEROGENESIS. THE PRESENCE OF SATURATING CONCENTRATIONS OF ELASTIN PEPTIDES IN THE CIRCULATION RESULTS IN A CHRONIC OVERSTIMULATION OF THE RECEPTOR WITH SUSTAINED FREE RADICAL AND LYTIC ENZYME PRODUCTION. OTHER EXAMPLES OF AGE-DEPENDENT UNCOUPLING OF RECEPTORS ALSO ILLUSTRATE THE IMPORTANCE OF ALTERED RECEPTOR FUNCTION IN TISSUE AGING AND RELATED PATHOLOGIES. 1998 2 5879 28 SYNTHETIC MITOCHONDRIA AS THERAPEUTICS AGAINST SYSTEMIC AGING: A HYPOTHESIS. WE HYPOTHESIZE HEREIN THAT SYNTHETIC MITOCHONDRIA, ENGINEERED, OR REPROGRAMMED TO BE MORE ENERGETICALLY EFFICIENT AND TO HAVE MILDLY ELEVATED LEVELS OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) PRODUCTION, WOULD BE AN EFFECTIVE FORM OF THERAPEUTICS AGAINST SYSTEMIC AGING. THE FREE RADICAL AND MITOCHONDRIA THEORIES OF AGING HOLD THAT MITOCHONDRIA-GENERATED ROS UNDERLIES CHRONIC ORGANELLE, CELL AND TISSUES DAMAGES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO SYSTEMIC AGING. MORE RECENT FINDINGS, HOWEVER, COLLECTIVELY SUGGEST THAT WHILE ACUTE AND MASSIVE ROS GENERATION DURING EVENTS SUCH AS TISSUE INJURY IS INDEED DETRIMENTAL, SUBACUTE STRESSES, AND CHRONIC ELEVATION IN ROS PRODUCTION MAY INSTEAD INDUCE A STATE OF MITOCHONDRIAL HORMESIS (OR "MITOHORMESIS") THAT COULD EXTEND LIFESPAN. MITOHORMESIS APPEARS TO BE A CONVERGENT MECHANISM FOR SEVERAL KNOWN ANTI-AGING SIGNALING PATHWAYS. IMPORTANTLY, MITOHORMETIC SIGNALING COULD ALSO OCCUR IN A NON-CELL AUTONOMOUS MANNER, WITH ITS INDUCTION IN NEURONS AFFECTING GUT CELLS, FOR EXAMPLE. TECHNOLOGIES ARE OUTLINED THAT COULD LEAD TOWARDS TESTING OF THE HYPOTHESIS, WHICH INCLUDE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC ENGINEERING OF THE MITOCHONDRIA, AS WELL AS INTERCELLULAR TRANSFER OF MITOCHONDRIA FROM TRANSPLANTED HELPER CELLS TO TARGET TISSUES. 2015 3 1027 22 CIRCULATING MIRNAS IN SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL AGING. A MINI-REVIEW. AGING IS A MULTIFACTORIAL PROCESS THAT AFFECTS THE ORGANISMS AT GENETIC, MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR LEVELS. THIS PROCESS MODIFIES SEVERAL TISSUES WITH A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON CELLS PHYSIOLOGY, TISSUES AND ORGANS FUNCTIONALITY, ALTERING THEIR REGENERATION CAPACITY. THE CHRONIC LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION TYPICAL OF AGING, DEFINED AS INFLAMMAGING, IS A COMMON BIOLOGICAL FACTOR RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DECLINE AND BEGINNING OF THE DISEASE IN AGE. A MURINE PARABIOSIS MODEL THAT COMBINES THE VASCULAR SYSTEM OF OLD AND YOUNG ANIMALS, SUGGESTS THAT SOLUBLE FACTORS RELEASED BY YOUNG INDIVIDUALS MAY IMPROVE THE REGENERATIVE POTENTIAL OF OLD TISSUE. THEREFORE, CIRCULATING FACTORS HAVE A KEY ROLE IN THE INDUCTION OF AGING PHENOTYPE. MOREOVER, LIFESTYLE CAN INFLUENCE THE PHYSIOLOGICAL STATUS OF MULTIPLE ORGANS, VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. RECENTLY, MICRORNAS ARE CONSIDERED POTENTIAL SENSORS OF AGING. 2019 4 3801 29 INTERPLAY OF VITAMIN D AND SIRT1 IN TISSUE-SPECIFIC METABOLISM-POTENTIAL ROLES IN PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES INCLUDING CANCER. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, INCLUDING OBESITY, METABOLIC SYNDROME, TYPE 2 DIABETES, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, AND CANCER, IS INCREASING AS A REQUIREMENT OF THE AGING POPULATION IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND THE SUSTAINABILITY OF HEALTHCARE. SIMILARLY, THE 2013-2030 ACTION PLAN OF THE WHO FOR THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES SEEKS THESE ACHIEVEMENTS. ADEQUATE LIFESTYLE CHANGES, ALONE OR WITH THE NECESSARY TREATMENTS, COULD REDUCE THE RISK OF MORTALITY OR THE DETERIORATION OF QUALITY OF LIFE. IN OUR RECENT WORK, WE SUMMARIZED THE ROLE OF TWO CENTRAL FACTORS, I.E., APPROPRIATE LEVELS OF VITAMIN D AND SIRT1, WHICH ARE CONNECTED TO ADEQUATE LIFESTYLES WITH BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES. BOTH OF THESE FACTORS HAVE RECEIVED INCREASED ATTENTION IN RELATION TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AS THEY BOTH TAKE PART IN REGULATION OF THE MAIN METABOLIC PROCESSES, I.E., LIPID/GLUCOSE/ENERGY HOMEOSTASIS, OXIDATIVE STRESS, REDOX BALANCE, AND CELL FATE, AS WELL AS IN THE HEALTHY REGULATION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. VITAMIN D AND SIRT1 HAVE DIRECT AND INDIRECT INFLUENCE OF THE REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND ARE RELATED TO CYTOPLASMIC SIGNALING PATHWAYS SUCH AS PLC/DAG/IP3/PKC/MAPK, MEK/ERK, INSULIN/MTOR/CELL GROWTH, PROLIFERATION; LEPTIN/PI3K-AKT-MTORC1, AKT/NFKB/COX-2, NFKB/TNFALPHA, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1BETA, AND AMPK/PGC-1ALPHA/GLUT4, AMONG OTHERS. THROUGH THEIR PROPER REGULATION, THEY MAINTAIN NORMAL BODY WEIGHT, LIPID PROFILE, INSULIN SECRETION AND SENSITIVITY, BALANCE BETWEEN THE PRO- AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROCESSES UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS AND INFECTIONS, MAINTAIN ENDOTHELIAL HEALTH; BALANCE CELL DIFFERENTIATION, PROLIFERATION, AND FATE; AND BALANCE THE CIRCADIAN RHYTHM OF THE CELLULAR METABOLISM. THE ROLE OF THESE TWO MOLECULES IS INTERCONNECTED IN THE MOLECULAR NETWORK, AND THEY REGULATE EACH OTHER IN SEVERAL LAYERS OF THE HOMEOSTASIS OF ENERGY AND THE CELLULAR METABOLISM. BOTH HAVE A CENTRAL ROLE IN THE MAINTENANCE OF HEALTHY AND BALANCED IMMUNE REGULATION AND REDOX REACTIONS; THEREFORE, THEY COULD CONSTITUTE PROMISING TARGETS EITHER FOR PREVENTION OR AS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES TO ACHIEVE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE, AT ANY AGE, FOR HEALTHY PEOPLE AND PATIENTS UNDER CHRONIC CONDITIONS. 2023 5 3123 29 GETTING AN INSIGHT INTO THE COMPLEXITY OF MAJOR CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASES: A POTENTIAL NEW SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO THEIR TREATMENT. AS THE MODERN SOCIETY IS TROUBLED BY MULTI-FACTORIAL DISEASES, RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON COMPLEX REALITIES INCLUDING CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, CANCER, OBESITY, HIV INFECTION, METABOLIC SYNDROME AND ITS DETRIMENTAL CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS AS WELL AS DEPRESSION AND OTHER BRAIN DISORDERS. DETERIORATION OF CRUCIAL HOMEOSTATIC MECHANISMS IN SUCH DISEASES INVARIABLY RESULTS IN ACTIVATION OF INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, LOSS IN IMMUNOLOGICAL FUNCTION, INCREASED SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISEASES, ALTERATION OF METABOLISM, DECREASE OF ENERGY PRODUCTION AND NEURO-COGNITIVE DECLINE. REGULATION OF GENES EXPRESSION BY EPIGENETIC CODE IS THE DOMINANT MECHANISM FOR THE TRANSDUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL INPUTS, SUCH AS STRESS AND INFLAMMATION TO LASTING PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES. ACUTE AND CHRONIC STRESS DETERMINES DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS IN BRAIN REGIONS WHICH MAY CONTRIBUTE TO NEURO-DEGENERATIVE DISORDERS. NUCLEAR GLUCOCORTICOIDS RECEPTOR INTERACTS WITH THE EPIGENOMA RESULTING IN A CORTISOL RESISTANCE STATUS ASSOCIATED WITH A DETERIORATION OF THE METABOLIC AND IMMUNE FUNCTIONS. GONADAL STEROIDS RECEPTORS HAVE A SIMILAR CAPACITY TO PRODUCE EPIGENOMIC REORGANIZATION OF CHROMATINE STRUCTURE. EPIGENOMIC-INDUCED REDUCTION IN IMMUNE CELLS TELOMERES LENGTH HAS BEEN OBSERVED IN MANY DEGENERATIVE DISEASES, INCLUDING ALL TYPES OF CANCER. THE FINAL RESULT OF THESE EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IS A SERIOUS DAMAGE TO THE NEURO-ENDOCRINE-IMMUNE-METABOLIC ADAPTIVE SYSTEMS. IN THIS STUDY, WE PROPOSE A TREATMENT WITH STEM CELLS DIFFERENTIATION STAGE FACTORS TAKEN FROM ZEBRAFISH EMBRYOS WHICH ARE ABLE TO REGULATE THE GENES EXPRESSION OF NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL STEM CELLS IN A DIFFERENT SPECIFIC WAY. 2015 6 6344 22 THE ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN AGING AND AUTOIMMUNITY. THE DECLINE IN IMMUNOCOMPETENCE WITH AGE IS ACCOMPANIED BY THE INCREASE IN THE INCIDENCE OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. AGING OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM, OR IMMUNOSENESCENCE, IS CHARACTERIZED BY A DECLINE OF BOTH T AND B CELL FUNCTION, AND PARADOXICALLY THE PRESENCE OF LOW-GRADE CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. THERE IS GROWING EVIDENCE THAT EPIGENETICS, THE STUDY OF INHERITED CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION THAT ARE NOT ENCODED BY THE DNA SEQUENCE ITSELF, CHANGES WITH AGING. INTERESTINGLY, EMERGING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS A KEY ROLE FOR EPIGENETICS IN HUMAN PATHOLOGIES, INCLUDING INFLAMMATORY AND NEOPLASTIC DISORDERS. HERE, WE WILL REVIEW THE POTENTIAL MECHANISMS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE INCREASE IN AUTOIMMUNE RESPONSES IN AGING. IN PARTICULAR, WE WILL DISCUSS HOW EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, ESPECIALLY DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE ACETYLATION, ARE ACCUMULATED DURING AGING AND HOW THESE EVENTS CONTRIBUTE TO AUTOIMMUNITY RISK. 2010 7 5471 25 RESPIRATORY MUSCLE SENESCENCE IN AGEING AND CHRONIC LUNG DISEASES. AGEING IS A PROGRESSIVE CONDITION THAT USUALLY LEADS TO THE LOSS OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES. THIS PROCESS IS ALSO PRESENT IN RESPIRATORY MUSCLES, WHICH ARE AFFECTED BY BOTH SENESCENT CHANGES OCCURRING IN THE WHOLE ORGANISM AND THOSE THAT ARE MORE SPECIFIC FOR MUSCLES. THE MECHANISMS OF THE LATTER CHANGES INCLUDE OXIDATIVE STRESS, DECREASE IN NEUROTROPHIC FACTORS AND DNA ABNORMALITIES. AGEING NORMALLY COEXISTS WITH COMORBIDITIES, INCLUDING RESPIRATORY DISEASES, WHICH FURTHER DETERIORATE THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF RESPIRATORY MUSCLES. IN THIS CONTEXT, CHANGES INTRINSIC TO AGEING BECOME ENHANCED BY MORE SPECIFIC FACTORS SUCH AS THE IMPAIRMENT IN LUNG MECHANICS AND GAS EXCHANGE, EXACERBATIONS AND HYPOXIA. HYPOXIA IN PARTICULAR HAS A DIRECT EFFECT ON MUSCLES, MAINLY THROUGH THE EXPRESSION OF INDUCIBLE FACTORS (HYPOXIC-INDUCIBLE FACTOR), AND CAN RESULT IN OXIDATIVE STRESS AND CHANGES IN DNA, DECREASE IN MITOCHONDRIAL BIOGENESIS AND DEFECTS IN THE TISSUE REPAIR MECHANISMS. INTENSE EXERCISE CAN ALSO CAUSE DAMAGE IN RESPIRATORY MUSCLES OF ELDERLY RESPIRATORY PATIENTS, BUT THIS CAN BE FOLLOWED BY TISSUE REPAIR AND REMODELLING. HOWEVER, AGEING INTERFERES WITH MUSCLE REPAIR BY TAMPERING WITH THE FUNCTION OF SATELLITE CELLS, MAINLY DUE TO OXIDATIVE STRESS, DNA DAMAGE AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. IN ADDITION TO THE NORMAL PROCESS OF AGEING, STRESS-INDUCED PREMATURE SENESCENCE CAN ALSO OCCUR, INVOLVING CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF MULTIPLE GENES BUT WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS IN TELOMERE LENGTH. 2020 8 49 22 A CURRENT GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC VIEW ON HUMAN AGING MECHANISMS. THE PROCESS OF AGING IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX AND INTRIGUING BIOLOGICAL PHENOMENONS. AGING IS A GENETICALLY REGULATED PROCESS IN WHICH THE ORGANISM'S MAXIMUM LIFESPAN POTENTIAL IS PRE-DETERMINED, WHILE THE RATE OF AGING IS INFLUENCED BY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND LIFESTYLE. CONSIDERING THE COMPLEXITY OF MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE REGULATION OF AGING PROCESS, UP TO THIS DATE THERE ISN'T A MAJOR, UNIFYING THEORY WHICH COULD EXPLAIN THEM. AS GENETIC/EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS BOTH INEVITABLY INFLUENCE THE AGING PROCESS, HERE WE PRESENT A REVIEW ON THE GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF THE MOST IMPORTANT MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF AGING. BASED ON THE STUDIES ON OXIDATIVE STRESS, METABOLISM, GENOME STABILITY, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AND CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN ANIMAL MODELS AND HUMANS, WE GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF KEY GENETIC AND MOLECULAR PATHWAYS RELATED TO AGING. AS MOST OF GENETIC MANIPULATIONS WHICH INFLUENCE THE AGING PROCESS ALSO AFFECT REPRODUCTION, WE DISCUSS AGING IN HUMANS AS A POST-REPRODUCTIVE GENETICALLY DETERMINED PROCESS. AFTER THE AGE OF REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS, AGING CONTINOUSLY PROGRESSES WHICH CLINICALLY COINCIDES WITH THE ONSET OF MOST CHRONIC DISEASES, CANCERS AND DEMENTIONS. AS EVOLUTION SHAPES THE GENOMES FOR REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS AND NOT FOR POST-REPRODUCTIVE SURVIVAL, AGING COULD BE DEFINED AS A PROTECTIVE MECHANISM WHICH ENSURES THE PRESERVATION AND PROGRESS OF SPECIES THROUGH THE MODIFICATION, TRASMISSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF GENETIC MATERIAL. 2009 9 3418 16 HUMAN HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF ENVIRONMENTALLY-MODULATED GENE EXPRESSION: POTENTIAL ROLES OF ELF-EMF INDUCED EPIGENETIC VERSUS MUTAGENIC MECHANISMS OF DISEASE. IN ORDER TO DETERMINE IF THERE MIGHT BE BIOLOGICAL AND HEALTH CONSEQUENCES AFTER EXPOSURES TO EXTREMELY-LOW FREQUENCY ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS (ELF-EMF), EITHER EXPERIMENTALLY OR EPIDEMIOLOGICALLY, MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE POTENTIAL MEANS BY WHICH ANY ENVIRONMENTAL AGENT CAN AFFECT CELLS IN A MULTICELLULAR ORGANISM HAS TO BE REVIEWED. THE GOAL OF THIS LIMITED REVIEW IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT, WHILE THE PREVAILING PARADIGM OF THE ENVIRONMENTALLY-INDUCED ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASES INVOLVES EITHER CELL KILLING (CYTOTOXICITY) OR GENE/CHROMOSOME MUTATIONS (GENOTOXICITY), ALTERATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF GENETIC INFORMATION AT THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL (TURNING GENES "ON" OR "OFF"), TRANSLATIONAL (STABILIZING OR DE-STABILIZING THE GENETIC MESSAGE), OR POSTTRANSLATIONAL (ALTERING THE GENE PRODUCT OR PROTEIN) LEVELS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE TO VARIOUS DISEASES. THIS LATTER MECHANISM, "EPIGENETIC" TOXICITY, UNLIKE THE FORMER TWO WHICH ARE IRREVERSIBLE, IS CHARACTERIZED BY THRESHOLD-LIKE ACTION, MULTIPLE BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAYS AND CHRONIC, REGULAR EXPOSURES TO BE EFFECTIVE. ULTIMATELY, EPIGENETIC TOXICANTS AFFECT ONE OF FOUR POTENTIAL CELL STATES, NAMELY ALTERATION OF CELL PROLIFERATION, CELL DIFFERENTIATION, PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH (APOPTOSIS) OR ADAPTIVE RESPONSES OF DIFFERENTIATED CELLS. 2000 10 626 26 BIOLOGICAL AGING MODULATES CELL MIGRATION VIA LAMIN A/C-DEPENDENT NUCLEAR MOTION. AGING IS A PROGRESSIVE FUNCTIONAL DECLINE IN ORGANS AND TISSUES OVER TIME AND TYPICALLY REPRESENTS THE ACCUMULATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES IN A HUMAN BEING. DIVERSE DISEASES, SUCH AS CARDIOVASCULAR, MUSCULOSKELETAL, AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS, ARE NOW UNDERSTOOD TO BE CAUSED BY AGING. WHILE BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF AGING MAINLY FOCUSES ON THE GRADUAL CHANGES THAT OCCUR EITHER ON THE MOLECULAR SCALE, FOR EXAMPLE, ALTERATION OF GENE EXPRESSION AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION, OR ON LARGER SCALES, FOR EXAMPLE, CHANGES IN MUSCLE STRENGTH AND CARDIAC FUNCTION, THE MECHANICS THAT REGULATES THE BEHAVIOR OF INDIVIDUAL CELLS AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE INTERNAL ELEMENTS OF CELLS, ARE LARGELY MISSING. IN THIS STUDY, WE SHOW THAT THE DYNAMIC FEATURES OF MIGRATING CELLS ACROSS DIFFERENT HUMAN AGES COULD HELP TO ESTABLISH THE UNDERLYING MECHANISM OF BIOLOGICAL AGE-DEPENDENT CELLULAR FUNCTIONAL DECLINE. TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CELLULAR DYNAMICS AND HUMAN AGE, WE IDENTIFY THE CHARACTERISTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CELL MIGRATION AND NUCLEAR MOTION WHICH IS TIGHTLY REGULATED BY NUCLEUS-BOUND CYTOSKELETAL ORGANIZATION. THIS ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATES THAT ACTOMYOSIN CONTRACTILITY-DEPENDENT NUCLEAR MOTION PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN CELL MIGRATION. WE ANTICIPATE THIS STUDY TO PROVIDE NOBLE BIOPHYSICAL INSIGHTS ON BIOLOGICAL AGING IN ORDER TO PRECISELY DIAGNOSE AGE-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES. 2020 11 4597 19 NATURAL PRODUCTS WITH ANTI-AGING POTENTIAL: AFFECTED TARGETS AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS. IN RECENT YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF ATTENTION TOWARD THE MOLECULAR MACHINERY RELEVANT TO AGE-RELATED PROGRESSION CONTROLLED THROUGH THE EXTERNAL INTERVENTION OF POLYPHENOLS- AN EPIGENETIC-MODULATING DIET. NATURAL PRODUCTS MODULATE CELLULAR LONGEVITY THROUGH HISTONE POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION AND CAN ALSO INDUCE THE UPREGULATION OF AUTOPHAGY, THUS REDUCING THE LEVEL OF ACETYL COENZYME A (ACCOA). IN ADDITION, THE EFFECT OF CALORIC RESTRICTION (CR) ON CANCER-RELATED CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IS OF GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN AGING. IN LINE WITH THIS, SIRT1 PROTEIN LEVELS ARE EXPANDED IN RESPONSE TO CALORIE RESTRICTION MIMETICS (CRM), IN THIS WAY ACTING AS AUTOPHAGY INDUCERS RELEVANT TO CANCER PREVENTION. 2018 12 1199 15 CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING FACTOR-BINDING PROTEIN (CRF-BP) AS A POTENTIAL NEW THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND STRESS DISORDERS. ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF DEMENTIA AND ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX HUMAN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED A CRITICAL ROLE OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE PATHOGENESIS AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF THE DISEASE, WHERE DAILY LIFE STRESS PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE. A LOT OF EPIGENETIC STUDIES HAVE LED TO THE CONCLUSION THAT CHRONIC STRESS AND STRESS-RELATED DISORDERS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART IN THE ONSET OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS, AND AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF RESEARCH YIELDED VALUABLE DISCOVERIES BUT HAS SO FAR NOT LED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE TREATMENT STRATEGIES FOR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR (CRF) IS ONE OF THE MAJOR HORMONES AND AT THE SAME TIME A NEUROPEPTIDE ACTING IN STRESS RESPONSE. DEREGULATION OF PROTEIN LEVELS OF CRF IS INVOLVED IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE PRECISE ROLES OF CRF AND ITS BINDING PROTEIN, CRF-BP, IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE THE KEY EVIDENCE FOR AND AGAINST THE INVOLVEMENT OF STRESS-ASSOCIATED MODULATION OF THE CRF SYSTEM IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DISCUSS HOW RECENT FINDINGS COULD LEAD TO NEW POTENTIAL TREATMENT POSSIBILITIES IN ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE BY USING CRF-BP AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET. 2019 13 5130 21 POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL GENE REGULATION: NOVEL PATHWAYS FOR GLUCOCORTICOIDS' ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTION. POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL GENE REGULATION (PTR) IS A FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL PROCESS THAT INTEGRATES WITH THE MASTER TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL OF GENE EXPRESSION, IN WAYS THAT ONLY IN THE LAST DECADE HAVE BEEN INCREASINGLY UNDERSTOOD [1, 2]. WHILE EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL EVENTS SHAPE CELL RESPONSE QUALITATIVELY, DECIDING THE PATTERN OF GENE EXPRESSION TO 'SWITCH ON OR OFF' IN RESPONSE TO ENDOGENOUS OR ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS, THE KEY TASK OF PTR IS TO ACT AS A 'RHEOSTAT' AND RAPIDLY ADAPT THE CELLULAR RESPONSE BY PROVIDING THE APPROPRIATE AMPLITUDE AND TIMING TO THE PROTEIN EXPRESSION PATTERNS [3, 4]. THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF THIS MECHANISM COMES TO THE FOREFRONT IN INFLAMMATORY AND IMMUNE RESPONSE, WHERE THE CHANGES IN AMPLITUDE AND DURATION IN THE EXPRESSION OF DANGEROUS AND PROTECTIVE GENES ARE IN DELICATE BALANCE, AND ARE CRITICAL IN DETERMINING EITHER THE SUCCESSFUL RESOLUTION OF THE IMMUNE RESPONSE OR ITS CHRONIC OVEREXPRESSION [5]. THIS BRIEF REVIEW INTRODUCES MEMBERS OF THE MAIN CLASSES OF MOLECULES MEDIATING THE CYTOPLASMIC ARM OF GENE REGULATION, NAMELY RNA-BINDING PROTEINS AND MICRO-RNA (MIRNA), AND SUMMARIZES EXPERIMENTAL DATA THAT UNDERSCORE THE ROLE OF THESE MOLECULES IN THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, AS WELL AS THEIR PROMISING VALUE AS MECHANISMS CONVEYING THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECT OF SYNTHETIC GLUCOCORTICOIDS. 2012 14 6906 20 [THE ROLE OF GLYCANS IN CANCER DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION. CLINICAL APPLICATIONS]. CHANGES IN GLYCOSYLATION PATTERN OF CELL SURFACE, BODY FLUIDS AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX GLYCOCONJUGATES IS A CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE OF TUMOR CELL MALIGNANCY. THESE CHANGES ARE THE RESULT OF MUTATIONS OF TUMOR-ASSOCIATED GENES AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN THE TUMOR ENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING NUTRIENT INFLUX, HYPOXIA, CYTOKINE EXPRESSION AND STIMULATION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. THE UNIQUE SET OF CELL SURFACE GLYCOANTIGENS ON NEOPLASTIC CELLS IS RECOGNIZED BY ENDOGENOUS LECTINS LOCATED IN THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX, VASCULAR ENDOTHELIUM, ON LEUKOCYTES OR PLATELETS, AND HAS AN IMPACT ON DISRUPTING BASIC CELLULAR PROCESSES, SUCH AS INTERCELLULAR RECOGNITION, CELL-CELL ADHESION OR CELL-ECM INTERACTION. THESE CHANGES HAVE A CRITICAL IMPACT ON THE MIGRATION, INVASIVE AND METASTATIC POTENTIAL OF NEOPLASTIC CELLS AND MODULATE THE IMMUNE RESPONSE. THIS UNIQUE PATTERN OF SUGAR ANTIGENS ON THE CANCER CELLS CAN BE A VAULABLE MARKER TO IDENTIFY THEM, DETERMINE THE STAGE OF THE DISEASE AS WELL AS BE A TARGET OF ANTI-CANCER THERAPY. 2021 15 6022 25 THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF ZN ON AKT-MEDIATED INSULIN AND CELL SURVIVAL SIGNALING PATHWAYS IN DIABETES. ZINC IS ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL TRACE ELEMENTS AND PARTICIPATES IN NUMEROUS PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES. ABNORMALITIES IN ZINC HOMEOSTASIS OFTEN RESULT IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF VARIOUS CHRONIC METABOLIC DISORDERS, SUCH AS DIABETES AND ITS COMPLICATIONS. ZINC HAS INSULIN-MIMETIC AND ANTI-DIABETIC EFFECTS AND DEFICIENCY HAS BEEN SHOWN TO AGGRAVATE DIABETES-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND TISSUE INJURY IN DIABETIC RODENT MODELS AND HUMAN SUBJECTS WITH DIABETES. AKT SIGNALING PATHWAY PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN INSULIN-STIMULATED GLUCOSE METABOLISM AND CELL SURVIVAL. ANTI-DIABETIC EFFECTS OF ZINC ARE LARGELY DEPENDENT ON THE ACTIVATION OF AKT SIGNALING. ZN IS ALSO AN INDUCER OF METALLOTHIONEIN THAT PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN ANTI-OXIDATIVE STRESS AND DAMAGE. HOWEVER, THE EXACT MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING ZINC-INDUCED ACTIVATION OF AKT SIGNALING PATHWAY REMAINS TO BE ELUCIDATED. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE RECENT ADVANCES IN DECIPHERING THE POSSIBLE MECHANISMS OF ZINC ON AKT-MEDIATED INSULIN AND CELL SURVIVAL SIGNALING PATHWAYS IN DIABETES CONDITIONS. INSIGHTS INTO THE EFFECTS OF ZINC ON EPIGENETIC REGULATION AND AUTOPHAGY IN DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY ARE ALSO DISCUSSED IN THE LATTER PART OF THIS REVIEW. 2018 16 4377 26 MITOCHONDRIAL AGING: FOCUS ON MITOCHONDRIAL DNA DAMAGE IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS - A MINI-REVIEW. ATHEROSCLEROSIS IS A COMPLEX DISEASE WHICH CAN BE DESCRIBED AS AN EXCESSIVE FIBROFATTY, PROLIFERATIVE, INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE TO DAMAGE TO THE ARTERY WALL INVOLVING SEVERAL CELL TYPES SUCH AS SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS, MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES, LYMPHOCYTES, DENDRITIC CELLS AND PLATELETS. ON THE OTHER HAND, ATHEROSCLEROSIS IS A TYPICAL AGE-RELATED DEGENERATIVE PATHOLOGY, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY SIGNS OF CELL SENESCENCE IN THE ARTERIAL WALL INCLUDING REDUCED CELL PROLIFERATION, IRREVERSIBLE GROWTH ARREST AND APOPTOSIS, INCREASED DNA DAMAGE, THE PRESENCE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, SHORTENING OF TELOMERE LENGTH AND MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION. THE MOST PROMINENT CHARACTERISTICS OF MITOCHONDRIAL AGING ARE THEIR STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA DAMAGE. THE MECHANISMS OF MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME DAMAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC AGE-RELATED DISEASES SUCH AS ATHEROSCLEROSIS ARE NOT YET WELL UNDERSTOOD. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE LATEST FINDINGS FROM STUDIES OF THOSE MUTATIONS OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL GENOME WHICH MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS AND WHICH ARE, AT THE SAME TIME, ALSO MARKERS OF MITOCHONDRIAL AGING AND CELL SENESCENCE. 2015 17 5801 27 STIFFNESS AND AGING IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES: THE DANGEROUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORCE AND SENESCENCE. BIOLOGICAL AGING IS A PROCESS ASSOCIATED WITH A GRADUAL DECLINE IN TISSUES' HOMEOSTASIS BASED ON THE PROGRESSIVE INABILITY OF THE CELLS TO SELF-RENEW. CELLULAR SENESCENCE IS ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF THE AGING PROCESS, CHARACTERIZED BY AN IRREVERSIBLE CELL CYCLE ARREST DUE TO REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES (ROS) PRODUCTION, TELOMERES SHORTENING, CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY ACTIVATION, AND CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE WILL DESCRIBE THE EFFECTS OF SENESCENCE ON TISSUE STRUCTURE, EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) ORGANIZATION, AND NUCLEUS ARCHITECTURE, AND SEE HOW THESE CHANGES AFFECT (ARE AFFECTED BY) MECHANO-TRANSDUCTION. IN OUR VIEW, THIS IS ESSENTIAL FOR A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROGRESSIVE PATHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION OF THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF RISK FACTORS, KNOWN TO ACT AT AN EPIGENETIC LEVEL. 2021 18 5581 20 ROLE OF NF-KAPPAB IN AGEING AND AGE-RELATED DISEASES: LESSONS FROM GENETICALLY MODIFIED MOUSE MODELS. AGEING IS A COMPLEX PROCESS, INDUCED BY MULTIFACETED INTERACTION OF GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. IT IS MANIFESTED BY A DECLINE IN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF ORGANISMS AND ASSOCIATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGE-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES AND CANCER DEVELOPMENT. IT IS CONSIDERED THAT AGEING FOLLOWS A STRICTLY-REGULATED PROGRAM, IN WHICH SOME SIGNALING PATHWAYS CRITICALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE AGED STATE. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IS A MAJOR MECHANISM THAT PROMOTES THE BIOLOGICAL AGEING PROCESS AND COMORBIDITY, WITH THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR NF-KAPPAB (NUCLEAR FACTOR KAPPA-LIGHT-CHAIN-ENHANCER OF ACTIVATED B CELLS) AS A CRUCIAL MEDIATOR OF INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. THIS, TOGETHER WITH THE FINDING THAT THE ACTIVATION OR INHIBITION OF NF-KAPPAB CAN INDUCE OR REVERSE RESPECTIVELY THE MAIN FEATURES OF AGED ORGANISMS, HAS BROUGHT IT UNDER CONSIDERATION AS A KEY TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR THAT ACTS AS A DRIVER OF AGEING. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUSED ON THE DATA OBTAINED ENTIRELY THROUGH THE GENERATION OF KNOCKOUT AND TRANSGENIC MOUSE MODELS OF EITHER PROTEIN INVOLVED IN THE NF-KAPPAB SIGNALING PATHWAY THAT HAVE PROVIDED RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE INTRICATE PROCESSES OR MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THAT CONTROL AGEING. WE HAVE REVIEWED THE RELATIONSHIP OF NF-KAPPAB AND PREMATURE AGEING; THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER ASSOCIATED WITH AGEING AND THE IMPLICATION OF NF-KAPPAB ACTIVATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES, SOME OF WHICH GREATLY INCREASE THE RISK OF DEVELOPING CANCER. 2021 19 4738 28 NOVEL FIBROBLAST PHENOTYPES IN HOMEOSTASIS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION: FROM FUNCTIONS TO POTENTIAL REGULATORS. FIBROBLASTS ARE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF THE STROMA, SUSTAINING A VARIETY OF TISSUES AND BEING KEY TO THE PROCESS OF TISSUE REPAIR AFTER INJURY. THEIR ROLE IN TISSUE REPAIR HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO THEIR ABILITY TO ACQUIRE A CONTRACTILE, EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX-PRODUCING PHENOTYPE KNOWN AS MYOFIBROBLASTS. THIS PROPERTY IS PRIMARILY DEPENDENT ON THEIR RESPONSE TO THE PLEIOTROPIC CYTOKINE TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR-BETA1. UNTIL RECENTLY, THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF FIBROBLASTS IN OTHER HOMEOSTATIC AND DISEASE-RELATED PROCESSES WAS LESS WELL UNDERSTOOD. ALTHOUGH IN VITRO STUDIES INDICATED THAT FIBROBLASTS ARE ABLE TO RESPOND TO AND SECRETE INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS, DEFINITIVE EVIDENCE OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO CHRONIC INFLAMMATION WAS LIMITED. HOWEVER, THE EMERGENCE OF TECHNIQUES THAT ALLOW EXPLORATION OF TISSUES AT THE SINGLE CELL LEVEL HAS CHALLENGED THE PREVIOUS PARADIGMS ON FIBROBLAST IDENTITY AND FUNCTIONS, AND HAS LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF SIGNIFICANT DIVERSITY, SHOWING THE PRESENCE OF FIBROBLASTS WITH ALTERNATE TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROFILES IN A VARIETY OF TISSUES. THESE STUDIES HAVE ALSO SUGGESTED POTENTIAL ROLES OF NOVEL FIBROBLAST SUBTYPES AS REGULATORS OF EPITHELIAL HOMEOSTASIS AND RENEWAL, INFLAMMATORY CELL INFILTRATION AND ACTIVATION, AND ANTIGEN PRESENTATION. HERE, WE PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF THE RECENT LITERATURE ON FIBROBLAST DIVERSITY IN THE DIGESTIVE TRACT, SKIN, LUNGS AND JOINTS. WE ALSO REVIEW EVIDENCE OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE REGULATION OF HOMEOSTASIS AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, AS WELL AS THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER CELLS IN VARIOUS TISSUE COMPARTMENTS. WE DISCUSS EVIDENCE OF DIFFERENT FACTORS INVOLVED IN THE CONTROL OF FIBROBLAST FUNCTION, ADDRESSING THE ROLE OF VARIOUS CYTOKINES, TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES, AS WELL AS MICROENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, INCLUDING EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX STIFFNESS, HYPOXIA, AND METABOLIC SHIFTS. 2023 20 389 20 AN INTEGRATIVE HYPOTHESIS LINKING CANCER, DIABETES AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS: THE ROLE OF MUTATIONS AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES. IT APPEARS THAT THE DISEASE STATES OF CANCER, ALTHEROSCLEROSIS AND DIABETES MIGHT SHARE A COMMON ETIOLOGY. THESE CHRONIC DISEASES APPEAR TO BE MULTI-STAGED IN THEIR PROGRESSION, WITH GENETIC, NUTRITIONAL, PSYCHO-SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND VIRAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THEIR APPEARANCE. WE OFFERED A HYPOTHESIS (A "MUTATION THEORY OF DISEASE"), STATING THAT THESE DISEASES CAN BE DESCRIBED BY INITIATION AND PROMOTION PHASES; INITIATION BEING THE RESULT OF THE PRODUCTION OF MUTATED CELLS AFTER UNREPAIRED DAMAGED DNA IS REPLICATED; PROMOTION BEING THE SELECTIVE PROLIFERATION OF THE INITIATED CELLS TO FORM CLONES OF MUTATED CELLS. IT WAS FURTHER POSTULATED THAT PROMOTION AFFECTS CELL PROLIFERATION BY ALTERING A MEMBRANE-CA++ REGULATORY SYSTEM. DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF THE MUTATION IN THE CLONE OF CELLS, SPECIFIC DISEASE STATES WOULD RESULT. THE ROLES OF RADIATIONS, CHEMICALS, VIRUSES, GENES, NUTRITION AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL STRESS WERE RELATED TO EITHER THE INITIATION (MUTATION PRODUCTION) OR THE PROMOTION (CELL PROLIFERATION) PHASE OF THESE DISEASES. 1980