Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2026

High-Throughput Behavioral Aging and Lifespan Assays Using the Lifespan Machine
08:53

High-Throughput Behavioral Aging and Lifespan Assays Using the Lifespan Machine

Published on: January 26, 2024

Aging and TOR: interwoven in the fabric of life

Zelton Dave Sharp1

  • 1Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 78245, USA. sharp@uthscsa.edu

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS
|October 21, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Retarding aging to enhance healthspan is achievable by targeting the nutrient-sensing pathway, the target of rapamycin (TOR). Inhibiting TOR extends lifespan across species, suggesting conserved aging mechanisms.

Area of Science:

  • Aging research
  • Cellular biology
  • Metabolic pathways

Background:

  • Calorie restriction and growth factor restriction have long been known to extend lifespan.
  • Recent drug interventions targeting aging pathways show promise.
  • The target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway is a key regulator of cellular responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of the target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway in aging.
  • To investigate the potential of retarding aging for improving healthspan in older individuals.

Main Methods:

  • Review of longstanding results from calorie and growth factor restriction studies.
  • Analysis of recent findings on interventional drugs targeting aging.
  • Examination of the conserved nature of TOR pathway's role in lifespan extension.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests retarding aging to improve quality of life is feasible.
  • The target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway is central to cellular responses to nutrients, growth factors, and stress.
  • Inhibiting TOR activity leads to conserved life-extending responses from yeast to mammals.

Conclusions:

  • Targeting the TOR pathway represents a promising strategy for interventions aimed at improving healthspan.
  • The conserved nature of TOR's role in aging suggests a fundamental biological mechanism.
  • Aging may have evolved to prioritize reproductive potential in younger organisms.

More Related Videos

Isolation of Intermediate Filament Proteins from Multiple Mouse Tissues to Study Aging-associated Post-translational Modifications09:29

Isolation of Intermediate Filament Proteins from Multiple Mouse Tissues to Study Aging-associated Post-translational Modifications

Published on: May 18, 2017

Related Concept Videos

The Effect of Aging on Tissues01:19

The Effect of Aging on Tissues

Several body functions deteriorate with age. The external signs of aging are easily identifiable. For example, the skin becomes dry, less elastic, and thins out, forming wrinkles. The skin of the face begins to appear looser due to a decrease in the levels of elastic and collagen fibers in the connective tissue. Additionally, melanin production in the hair follicle decreases with age, resulting in gray hair. Moreover, the senses of sight and hearing decline, so glasses and hearing aids may...
Aging01:26

Aging

Aging is a complex biological phenomenon influenced by various processes that affect cellular and systemic functions. Several prominent theories attempt to explain its mechanisms, highlighting cellular limitations, oxidative damage, and hormonal changes as central factors in aging.
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Life Tables01:22

Life Tables

A life table is a statistical tool that summarizes the mortality and survival patterns of a population, providing detailed insights into the likelihood of survival or death across different age intervals within a cohort. By organizing data on survival probabilities and mortality rates, life tables offer a clear snapshot of population dynamics over time. They are extensively used in demography, public health, actuarial science, and ecology to analyze life expectancy, design health interventions,...
Life Histories01:29

Life Histories

Constrained by limited energy and resources, organisms must compromise between offspring quantity and parental investment. This trade-off is represented by two primary reproductive strategies; K-strategists produce few offspring but provide substantial parental support, whereas r-strategists produce much progeny that receives little care. These strategies are related to an organism’s survival likelihood across its lifespan, which is represented by a survivorship curve. Three general types of...
Toroids01:27

Toroids

A toroid is a closely wound donut-shaped coil constructed using a single conducting wire. In general, it is assumed that a toriod consists of multiple circular loops perpendicular to its axis.
When connected to a supply, the magnetic field generated in the toroid has field lines circular and concentric to its axis. Conventionally, the direction of this magnetic field is expressed using the right-hand rule. If the fingers of the right hand curl in the current direction, the thumb points in the...
Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying01:21

Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross significantly advanced psychology's understanding of the process of dying with her influential book, On Death and Dying (1969). She focused on studying terminally ill individuals and outlined five stages commonly experienced when coping with death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
In denial, individuals reject the reality of their condition, often thinking, "This isn't true; I feel fine," as a way to protect themselves from emotional distress. Anger...