Title:Aging as an Optimization Between Cellular Maintenance Requirements and Evolutionary Constraints
VOLUME: 8 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Quentin Vanhaelen
Affiliation:Sprott Centre for Stem Cell Research, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, Canada.
Keywords:mTOR, regulatory network, telomere, homeostasis, forces of natural selection, modern synthesis.
Abstract:During the last decade, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating the cellular
environment has made significant advances. With the new dynamical description of the functionalities
of the cell, several processes known to play a crucial role in the onset of aging such as cell senescence,
the increase of ROS level and telomere shortening appear to be a consequence of the disruption
of a systemic dynamical equilibrium established within the cellular environment. In this short review,
I discuss how these new features provide us with a way to improve the current evolutionary theory
of aging and help to clarify the role played by aging within the context of the evolution.
