Hitting the brakes on transcription to extend lifespan

Abstract

In aged animals from worms to humans, transcriptional elongation rates are faster, leading to changes in transcript quality and alternative splicing. Recent work by Debès et al. shows how interventions that slow elongation rates, such as mutating RNA polymerase II (Pol II) or increasing nucleosome density to impose transcriptional 'traffic', delay senescence and promote longevity.

Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; Drosophila melanogaster; RNA; RNA polymerase II; aging; alternative splicing; chromatin; histones; human; longevity; mouse; rat; senescence; transcription; transcriptional elongation.