Growth and aging: a common molecular mechanism

Mikhail V. Blagosklonny¹, Michael N. Hall²

¹Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA
²Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH4056 Basel, Switzerland

Received: March 1, 2009Accepted: April 20, 2009Published: April 20, 2009

Copyright: © 2009 Blagosklonny et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that growth and aging are somehow linked, but the nature of this link has been elusive. Here we review the aging process as a continuation of TOR-driven growth. TOR is absolutely essential for developmental growth, but upon completion of development it causes aging and age-related diseases. Thus, the nutrient-sensing and growth-promoting TOR signaling pathway may provide a molecular link between growth and aging that is universal from yeast to human.