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Journal of Biological Sciences

Year: 2005 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 1 | Page No.: 38-43
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ABSTRACT

Many of us would like to experience a healthy old age. It might now be possible to achieve this goal by protecting our immune system from the damage that accumulates with time. The story starts with the explorer, Ponce de Leon, who set forth from Spain in 1513 in search of the `Fountain of Youth`. Both before and since that time, claims have been put forth, often without the benefit of scientific testing, that certain interventions may increase lifespan or promote sustained health in old age. Age-associated reductions in circulating levels of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α (PPARα) activators such as dehydroepiandrosterone-3β (DHEAS) may compromise normal cellular responses that involve PPARα activation, thereby hindering the essential maintenance of cellular redox balance. Excesses in reactive oxygen species can lead to the activation of nuclear factor-kappa β (NF-κB) and the downstream expression of some NF-κB controlled inflammatory genes. This imbalance in redox state appears to be intimately linked to many age-associated alterations in immune function and other ageing-related tissue damage. Supplementing aged mice with PPARα activators has proven to be helpful in re-establishing cellular redox balance, thereby promoting the reacquisition of immune competence and possibly alleviating a number of age-associated pathophysiologies. An understanding of the ageing at the molecular level offers hope for strengthening the aged immune system; thereby preventing some of the diseases commonly linked to advanced age.
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