(From EurekAlert). An accurate and easily measured biomarker for the aging process would be an important step forward, and researchers may have found one: “As cells and tissues age, the expression of two proteins called p16INK4a and ARF dramatically increases. This increase in expression, more than a hundredfold in some tissues, suggests a strong link between cellular aging and the upregulation, or increased production, of p16INK4a and ARF. … Both p16INK4a and ARF are known potent tumor suppressors, or proteins that halt tumor cell growth. The study suggests that the important anti-cancer function of these proteins to limit cellular growth might in turn cause aging. … the increase in p16INK4a and ARF can be substantially inhibited by decreasing caloric intake, a known retardant of aging.”
View the Article Under Discussion: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/uonc-ulr110404.php
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