A hierarchy of causes of death in senescent C. elegans - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #C. elegans
- #lifespan
- #senescence
- Interventions extending lifespan in C. elegans may decelerate aging or suppress specific late-life pathologies.
- Late-life pathologies in C. elegans compete hierarchically, where removing one cause of death can reveal another.
- Under standard conditions, bacterial infection is a major cause of death in elderly C. elegans.
- Suppression of uterine tumors extends lifespan only when bacterial infection is prevented.
- Lifespan in wild-type C. elegans can be limited by naturally-occurring neoplasia, similar to mammals.
- Blocking bacterial infection mitigates the life-shortening effects of vitellogenesis but not distal gonad degeneration.
- Lifespan limitation in C. elegans depends on the hierarchy of competing causes of mortality.
- Increases in lifespan do not necessarily indicate a reduction in overall aging rate.