Colon cancer, Crohn’s disease, and other gut diseases could be better treated — or even prevented — thanks to a newly-discovered link between a cellular process called autophagy and inflammation. The findings of a research team at the University of Warwick are published in the journal Nature Communications. Tusco et al find a link between inflammation and a common cellular process called autophagy. Image credit: University of Warwick. Autophagy...
![KLFs are a subfamily of zinc finger transcriptional regulators with highly characterized roles in proliferation, survival, metabolism, and response to stress. Hsieh et al demonstrate that KLFs are critical determinants of aging, influencing both lifespan and age-related deterioration, and are broadly required for lifespan extension in all four mechanistically distinct longevity models tested. Importantly, the team provides evidence that these effects are mediated by KLF regulation of autophagy (autophagy was assessed using a GFP::LGG-1 translational reporter; GFP-positive puncta [red arrow] were counted in 30-150 total hypodermal seam cells in 10–20 animals) and are conserved in a mammalian system via a functional ortholog, KLF4. Together, the findings provide a role for the KLFs as a transcriptional regulatory point in longevity. Image credit: Hsieh et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-00899-5.](https://cdn.sci.news/images/2017/10/image_5324-Aging-Pathway-195x110.jpg)
