Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research, Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nat Aging. 2023 Dec;3(12):1486-1499. doi: 10.1038/s43587-023-00527-6. Epub 2023 Dec 15.
Information storage and retrieval is essential for all life. In biology, information is primarily stored in two distinct ways: the genome, comprising nucleic acids, acts as a foundational blueprint and the epigenome, consisting of chemical modifications to DNA and histone proteins, regulates gene expression patterns and endows cells with specific identities and functions. Unlike the stable, digital nature of genetic information, epigenetic information is stored in a digital-analog format, susceptible to alterations induced by diverse environmental signals and cellular damage. The Information Theory of Aging (ITOA) states that the aging process is driven by the progressive loss of youthful epigenetic information, the retrieval of which via epigenetic reprogramming can improve the function of damaged and aged tissues by catalyzing age reversal.
信息存储和检索对于所有生命都是至关重要的。在生物学中，信息主要以两种截然不同的方式存储：基因组，由核酸组成，充当基础蓝图；而表观基因组则由 DNA 和组蛋白的化学修饰组成，调节基因表达模式，并赋予细胞特定的身份和功能。与遗传信息稳定的数字性质不同，表观遗传信息以数字-模拟格式存储，易受各种环境信号和细胞损伤诱导的改变。衰老的信息论（ITOA）指出，衰老过程是由年轻的表观遗传信息逐渐丧失驱动的，通过表观遗传重编程检索这些信息可以通过催化逆转衰老来改善受损和衰老组织的功能。
