Molecular and Cellular Basis of Aging

In this chapter, we present the molecular and cellular basis of half of all hallmarks of aging, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, disabled macroautophagy, loss of proteostasis, stem cell exhaustion, cellular senescence and telomer attrition. Firstly, the handling of oxidative and metabolic stress in mitochondria and the endoplasmatic reticulum via SIRTs, AMPK and the unfolded protein response are discussed. Furthermore, the mechanisms and purpose of apoptosis, autophagy and proteostasis are explained. In addition, stem cell exhaustion is described in the context of hematopoiesis and senescence together with tumor suppressor proteins like p53, RB1 (retinoblastoma 1) and p16. Finally, live expectance of cells is reviewed along telomere shortening and replicative immortality.