Cell Signaling:
Aging Is RSKy Business
Matt Kaeberlein1 and
Pankaj Kapahi2
Following hot on the heels of recent studies showing that dietary restriction slows aging in primates (1) and that inhibiting the enzyme mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) increases life span in mice (2), a report by Selman et al. on page XXX of this issue (3) uncovers an important role for another enzyme, a ribosomal S6 protein kinase (RSK) called S6K1, as a determinant of mammalian aging. S6K1 is a target of mTOR, so the new finding further defines a conserved longevity pathway that links nutrient availability to aging in organisms as diverse as yeast and mice. The study also has potentially important implications for future attempts to increase longevity and slow the progression of age-associated diseases in humans.
1 Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
2 Buck Institute for Age Research, Novato, CA 94945, USA.
E-mail: kaeber{at}u.washington.edu; pkapahi{at}buckinstitute.org
