OutFOXing the grim reaper: novel mechanisms regulating longevity by forkhead transcription factors

Studies in the nematode Caenhorhabditis elegans have contributed to understanding the mechanisms that control life-span and aging. Recent experiments have employed RNAi to knock down gene expression, microarray analysis to identify genes involved in the insulin/insulin-like growth factor pathway, and bioinformatics screening to identify new Forkhead-regulated genes. The results from these experiments suggest that members of the Forkhead transcription factor family along with heat shock factors may coordinately regulate production of small heat shock proteins to control how cell stress influences life-span, and provide new links between metabolism and longevity, as well as indicate that antimicrobial genes may be involved in the aging process.