Physiological ageing: role of p53 and PARP-1 tumor suppressors in the regulation of terminal senescence.

Ageing of organisms is among the most complex processes currently known. Understanding the molecular mechanism of physiological ageing is one of the most essential issues in biology and medicine because it is not possible to predict when and how a certain individual will start ageing. In the past centuries human life expectancies increased. Extension of life span is associated with increased susceptibility to a number of chronic diseases. Insight into the cellular and molecular targets of the ageing process would offer the opportunity to prevent at least some of the destructive processes. In the present paper the involvement of two tumor suppressor proteins: wild-type p53 and poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase-1 (PARP-1) in the regulation of cellular senescence and physiological ageing was reviewed. Moreover, the interaction and cross-talk between p53 and PARP1-1 was discussed.