Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Sep;33(9):1568-1584.
doi: 10.1002/jbmr.3564. Epub 2018 Aug 13.

The Spectrum of Fundamental Basic Science Discoveries Contributing to Organismal Aging

Affiliations
Review

The Spectrum of Fundamental Basic Science Discoveries Contributing to Organismal Aging

Joshua N Farr et al. J Bone Miner Res. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Aging research has undergone unprecedented advances at an accelerating rate in recent years, leading to excitement in the field as well as opportunities for imagination and innovation. Novel insights indicate that, rather than resulting from a preprogrammed series of events, the aging process is predominantly driven by fundamental non-adaptive mechanisms that are interconnected, linked, and overlap. To varying degrees, these mechanisms also manifest with aging in bone where they cause skeletal fragility. Because these mechanisms of aging can be manipulated, it might be possible to slow, delay, or alleviate multiple age-related diseases and their complications by _targeting conserved genetic signaling pathways, controlled functional networks, and basic biochemical processes. Indeed, findings in various mammalian species suggest that _targeting fundamental aging mechanisms (eg, via either loss-of-function or gain-of-function mutations or administration of pharmacological therapies) can extend healthspan; ie, the healthy period of life free of chronic diseases. In this review, we summarize the evidence supporting the role of the spectrum of fundamental basic science discoveries contributing to organismal aging, with emphasis on mammalian studies and in particular aging mechanisms in bone that drive skeletal fragility. These mechanisms or aging hallmarks include: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. Because these mechanisms are linked, interventions that ameliorate one hallmark can in theory ameliorate others. In the field of bone and mineral research, current challenges include defining the relative contributions of each aging hallmark to the natural skeletal aging process, better understanding the complex interconnections among the hallmarks, and identifying the most effective therapeutic strategies to safely _target multiple hallmarks. Based on their interconnections, it may be feasible to simultaneously interfere with several fundamental aging mechanisms to alleviate a wide spectrum of age-related chronic diseases, including osteoporosis. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Keywords: AGING; BONE; DISEASE PREVENTION; OSTEOPOROSIS.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
The hallmarks of skeletal aging. (A) Cellular senescence is shown as an example of an antagonistic hallmark of aging or fundamental aging mechanism that, in youth, acts as a defense response to damage in order to maintain skeletal tissue homeostasis and protect against cancer. (B) Schematic representation of the nine hallmarks of aging: genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. The hallmarks are grouped into three categories: the primary hallmarks (depicted in blue), antagonistic hallmarks (depicted in orange), and the integrative hallmarks (depicted in green). Depicted is an overview of how with old age, the aging skeletal hallmarks are potentially interconnected, linked, and overlap. Each hallmark may manifest to varying degrees with chronological aging in bone where it can not only trigger activation other hallmarks, based on their hierarchical relations, but also contribute to the natural skeletal aging process. Cellular senescence is shown as an example of an antagonistic hallmark (depicted in orange) that with aging can be perturbed by the primary hallmarks (depicted in blue) as well as other antagonistic hallmarks, and beyond a certain threshold becomes progressively detrimental rather than compensatory. Ultimately, these events result in activation of the integrative hallmarks (depicted in green) leading to skeletal dysfunction. Because the hallmarks are interconnected, interventions that ameliorate one hallmark can in theory ameliorate others. SASP = senescence-associated secretory phenotype; ROS = reactive oxygen species.

Similar articles

  • The hallmarks of aging.
    López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. López-Otín C, et al. Cell. 2013 Jun 6;153(6):1194-217. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.05.039. Cell. 2013. PMID: 23746838 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe.
    López-Otín C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. López-Otín C, et al. Cell. 2023 Jan 19;186(2):243-278. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.11.001. Epub 2023 Jan 3. Cell. 2023. PMID: 36599349 Review.
  • Magnesium and the Hallmarks of Aging.
    Dominguez LJ, Veronese N, Barbagallo M. Dominguez LJ, et al. Nutrients. 2024 Feb 9;16(4):496. doi: 10.3390/nu16040496. Nutrients. 2024. PMID: 38398820 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Sedentary behavior and the biological hallmarks of aging.
    Raffin J, de Souto Barreto P, Le Traon AP, Vellas B, Aubertin-Leheudre M, Rolland Y. Raffin J, et al. Ageing Res Rev. 2023 Jan;83:101807. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2022.101807. Epub 2022 Nov 22. Ageing Res Rev. 2023. PMID: 36423885 Review.
  • New hallmarks of ageing: a 2022 Copenhagen ageing meeting summary.
    Schmauck-Medina T, Molière A, Lautrup S, Zhang J, Chlopicki S, Madsen HB, Cao S, Soendenbroe C, Mansell E, Vestergaard MB, Li Z, Shiloh Y, Opresko PL, Egly JM, Kirkwood T, Verdin E, Bohr VA, Cox LS, Stevnsner T, Rasmussen LJ, Fang EF. Schmauck-Medina T, et al. Aging (Albany NY). 2022 Aug 29;14(16):6829-6839. doi: 10.18632/aging.204248. Epub 2022 Aug 29. Aging (Albany NY). 2022. PMID: 36040386 Free PMC article.

Cited by

References

    1. Lopez-Otin C, Blasco MA, Partridge L, Serrano M, Kroemer G. The hallmarks of aging. Cell. 2013;153(6):1194–217. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kennedy BK, Berger SL, Brunet A, et al. Geroscience: linking aging tochronic disease. Cell. 2014;159(4):709–13. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tian X, Seluanov A, Gorbunova V. Molecular mechanisms determining lifespan in short- and long-lived species. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2017;28(10):722–34. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vijg J, Kennedy BK. The essence of aging. Gerontology. 2016;62(4): 381–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Williams GC. Pleitropy, natural selection, and the evolution of senescence. Evolution. 1957;11(4):398–411.

Publication types

  NODES
admin 1
innovation 1
twitter 2