Review Volume 4, Issue 8 pp 525—534

Caloric restriction: is mammalian life extension linked to p53?

Paola Tucci1,2, ,

  • 1 Medical Research Council, Toxicology Unit, Leicester University, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK
  • 2 Department of Pharmaco-Biology, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy

Received: August 6, 2012       Accepted: August 21, 2012       Published: August 22, 2012      

https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.100481
How to Cite

Abstract

Caloric restriction, that is limiting food intake, is recognized in mammals as the best characterized and most reproducible strategy for extending lifespan, retarding physiological aging and delaying the onset of age-associated diseases. The aim of this mini review is to argue that p53 is the connection in the abilities of both the Sirt-1 pathway and the TOR pathway to impact on longevity of cells and organisms. This novel, lifespan regulating function of p53 may be evolutionarily more ancient than its relatively recent role in apoptosis and tumour suppression, and is likely to provide many new insights into lifespan modulation.

Abbreviations

CR: caloric restriction; ROS: reactive oxygen species; mTOR: mammalian target of rapamycin; IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor-1; IGF-1R: IGF-1 receptor.