How stem cells age and why this makes us grow old

Norman E. Sharpless, Ronald A. DePinho

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

706 Scopus citations

Abstract

Recent data suggest that we age, in part, because our self-renewing stem cells grow old as a result of heritable intrinsic events, such as DNA damage, as well as extrinsic forces, such as changes in their supporting niches. Mechanisms that suppress the development of cancer, such as senescence and apoptosis, which rely on telomere shortening and the activities of p53 and p16INK4a, may also induce an unwanted consequence: a decline in the replicative function of certain stem-cell types with advancing age. This decreased regenerative capacity appears to contribute to some aspects of mammalian ageing, with new findings pointing to a 'stem-cell hypothesis' for human age-associated conditions such as frailty, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)703-713
Number of pages11
JournalNature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
Volume8
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2007
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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