[
Int J Mol Sci,
2019]
Aging is a natural phenomenon that occurs in all living organisms. In humans, aging is associated with lowered overall functioning and increased mortality out of the risk for various age-related diseases. Hence, researchers are pushed to find effective natural interventions that can promote healthy aging and extend lifespan. Royal jelly (RJ) is a natural product that is fed to bee queens throughout their entire life. Thanks to RJ, bee queens enjoy an excellent reproductive function and lengthened lifespan compared with bee workers, despite the fact that they have the same genome. This review aimed to investigate the effect of RJ and/or its components on lifespan/healthspan in various species by evaluating the most relevant studies. Moreover, we briefly discussed the positive effects of RJ on health maintenance and age-related disorders in humans. Whenever possible, we explored the metabolic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms through which RJ can modulate age-related mechanisms to extend lifespan. RJ and its ingredients-proteins and their derivatives e.g., royalactin; lipids e.g., 10-hydroxydecenoic acid; and vitamins e.g., pantothenic acid-improved healthspan and extended lifespan in worker honeybees <i>Apis mellifera</i>, <i>Drosophila Melanogaster</i> flies, <i>Gryllus bimaculatus</i> crickets, silkworms, <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> nematodes, and mice. The longevity effect was attained via various mechanisms: downregulation of insulin-like growth factors and targeting of rapamycin, upregulation of the epidermal growth factor signaling, dietary restriction, and enhancement of antioxidative capacity. RJ and its protein and lipid ingredients have the potential to extend lifespan in various creatures and prevent senescence of human tissues in cell cultures. These findings pave the way to inventing specific RJ anti-aging drugs. However, much work is needed to understand the effect of RJ interactions with microbiome, diet, activity level, gender, and other genetic variation factors that affect healthspan and longevity.
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Trends in Pharmacological Sciences,
2005]
K+ channels that possess two pore domains in each channel subunit are common in many animal tissues. Such channels are generated from large families of subunits and are implicated in several functions, including temperature sensation, responses to ischaemia, K+ homeostasis and setting the resting potential of the cell. Their activity can be modulated by polyunsaturated fatty acids, pH and oxygen, and some are candidate targets of volatile anaesthetics. However, despite their potential as targets for novel drugs for human health, comparatively little is known about the molecular basis of their diverse physiological and pharmacological properties. Genetic model organisms have considerable potential for improving our understanding of these channels. In this article, we review the contributions of some of these genetic model organisms to recent advances in our knowledge of two-pore-domain K+
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Trends in Genetics,
1997]
Caenorhabditis elegans first became a 'serious' model organism after Brenner's publication of The Genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans. Since then a wealth of knowledge has been acquired regarding this rather simple metazoan animal. Evolution might have been programmed to develop C. elegans for the benefit of biological science. The transparency and invariant cell lineage of C. elegans makes it a desirable organism for cell biology research. Similarly, its large brood size and small generation interval make it an extremely useful organism for the geneticist. Additionally, C. elegans research benefits greatly from the efforts of pioneer reseachers who compiled the complete cell lineage diagram, the neuronal 'wiring' diagram, the physical genetic map (derived from an almost coniguous array of cosmids and YACs covering all six chromosomes) and finally an extensive catalogue of cDNA and almost complete genomic sequences. Murphy's Law prevails however, and C. elegans researchers are cursed with an organism for which no in vitro cell culture system exists, in which gene knockout technology is laborious at best and in which single-cell electrophysiology has only recently become possible. The book C. elegans II is part of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory monograph series, as was its precursor, The Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The book is more than an update of the previous one and includes chapters concerning a number of areas of C. elegans research only in their infancy in 1988....