Water Loss in Aging Erythrocytes Provides a Clue to a General Mechanism of Cellular Senescence
1Laboratory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland.
Abstract:
Experimental evidence for age-dependent loss of intracellular water content as a widespread concomitant of cellular senescence is reviewed. Quantitative models are presented, indicating that an age-dependent increase in macromolecular crowding resulting from water loss may be responsible for three observed phenomena: a general age-dependent loss of intracellular protein solubility, a delayed and rapid appearance of high molecular weight aggregates, and an age-dependent transfer of intracellular protein from dilute to concentrated or condensed phases.
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