ATF4 activity: a common feature shared by many kinds of slow-aging mice

ATF4 is a DNA-binding factor that modulates responses to amino acid availability and ribosomal function.  University of Michigan (Michigan) researchers observe that elevated liver levels of ATF4, and the corresponding levels of the molecules whose expression it controls, are elevated in the livers of mice exposed longevity interventions including diets, drugs, genes, and developmental alterations.  Richard Miller,  the study’s senior author, submits that: “ATF4 seems to be involved in control of aging from yeast to mice, so it’s a good bet to be important in human aging, too.”