LONGEVITY AND THE GENETIC DETERMINATION OF COLLAGEN GLYCOXIDATION KINETICS IN MAMMALIAN SENESCENCE

A fundamental question in the basic biology of aging is whether there is a universal aging process. If indeed such a process exists, one wou ld expect that it develops at a higher rate in short- versus long-live d species, We have quantitated pentosidine, a marker of glycoxidative stress in skin collagen from eight mammalian species as a function of age. A curvilinear increase was modeled for all species, and the rate of increase correlated inversely with maximum life-span. Dietary restr iction, a potent intervention associated with increased life-span, mar kedly inhibited glycoxidation rate in the rodent. On the assumption th at collagen turnover rate is primarily influenced by the crosslinking due to glycoxidation, these results suggest that there is a progressiv e age-related deterioration of the process that controls the collagen glycoxidation rate, Thus, the ability to withstand damage due to glyco xidation and the Maillard reaction may be under genetic control.