Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA.
Nat Neurosci. 2013 May;16(5):529-31. doi: 10.1038/nn.3368. Epub 2013 Apr 7.
We found that several transposable elements were highly active in Drosophila brain during normal aging. In addition, we found that mutations in Drosophila Argonaute 2 (Ago2) resulted in exacerbated transposon expression in the brain, progressive and age-dependent memory impairment, and shortened lifespan. These findings suggest that transposon activation may contribute to age-dependent loss of neuronal function.
我们发现,在正常衰老过程中,几种转座元件在果蝇大脑中高度活跃。此外,我们发现果蝇 Argonaute 2(Ago2)突变导致大脑中转座元件的表达加剧,表现为进行性和年龄依赖性记忆障碍以及寿命缩短。这些发现表明,转座元件的激活可能导致与年龄相关的神经元功能丧失。