Signaling pathway of insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) as a potential regulator of lifespan

• Published in: Journal of evolutionary biochemistry and physiology Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Author: Chistyakova, O. V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01-02-2008; SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica
• Subjects: Animal Physiology; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Evolutionary Biology; Life Sciences; Reviews; insulin/IGF-1 signaling system; mouse; longevity; nematode; fruit fly
• ISSN: 0022-0930; 1608-3202
• DOI: 10.1134/S0022093008010015

The experimental material accumulated for two decades allows concluding that regulation of lifespan has hormonal control based on the evolutionary conservative insulin/IGF-1 receptor signaling pathway. Data obtained on the commonly accepted models of longevity -- nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and rodents -- demonstrate that reduction of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway results in an increase of the lifespan. There is shown involvement in the longevity mechanism of a large group of genes whose products perform control of metabolism, feeding behavior, reproduction, and resistance to oxidative stress. Discussed in this review are current concepts of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling system as a regulatory “longevity module” and of its possible role in prolongation of life in the higher vertebrates, including human.