Grant: Operating Grant

Aging is strongly linked to chronic inflammation but the molecular basis of this relationship is poorly understood. Inflammation involves a family of molecules known as cytokines. At the cellular levels cytokine signaling can accelerate the aging process inducing cellular senescence. We have identified a molecular pathway mediating the senescent functions of cytokines. The transcription factor Stat5 which is activated by cytokines, can in turn induce an adaptor protein Socs1 that activates another transcription factor known as p53. The result of activating this pathway is a lost of cellular renewal potential and the secretion of more cytokines. Now we propose to further investigate the molecular properties of these interactions, design assays to find drugs that modulate them and create an animal model to validate our findings in vivo and test for possible pharmacological or nutritional interventions against age-related diseases.