Eleftherianos Ioannis, Castillo Julio Cesar
Insect Infection and Immunity Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Microbiology and Immunology Program, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, The George Washington University, Lisner Hall 336, 2023 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2012;13(8):9826-9844. doi: 10.3390/ijms13089826. Epub 2012 Aug 7.
Aging is a complex process that involves the accumulation of deleterious changes resulting in overall decline in several vital functions, leading to the progressive deterioration in physiological condition of the organism and eventually causing disease and death. The immune system is the most important host-defense mechanism in humans and is also highly conserved in insects. Extensive research in vertebrates has concluded that aging of the immune function results in increased susceptibility to infectious disease and chronic inflammation. Over the years, interest has grown in studying the molecular interaction between aging and the immune response to pathogenic infections. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent model system for dissecting the genetic and genomic basis of important biological processes, such as aging and the innate immune system, and deciphering parallel mechanisms in vertebrate animals. Here, we review the recent advances in the identification of key players modulating the relationship between molecular aging networks and immune signal transduction pathways in the fly. Understanding the details of the molecular events involved in aging and immune system regulation will potentially lead to the development of strategies for decreasing the impact of age-related diseases, thus improving human health and life span.
衰老过程复杂，涉及有害变化的积累，导致多种重要功能全面衰退，致使机体生理状况逐渐恶化，最终引发疾病和死亡。免疫系统是人类最重要的宿主防御机制，在昆虫中也高度保守。对脊椎动物的广泛研究得出结论，免疫功能的衰老会导致对传染病和慢性炎症的易感性增加。多年来，研究衰老与病原体感染免疫反应之间分子相互作用的兴趣日益浓厚。果蝇是剖析衰老和先天免疫系统等重要生物学过程的遗传和基因组基础以及解读脊椎动物平行机制的优秀模型系统。在此，我们综述了在果蝇中鉴定调节分子衰老网络与免疫信号转导途径之间关系的关键参与者的最新进展。了解衰老和免疫系统调节中分子事件的细节可能会推动制定减少与年龄相关疾病影响的策略，从而改善人类健康和寿命。
