Accumulating Insoluble Protein and Rate of Aging

摘要

It has been proposed that during aging there is a progressive accumulation of insoluble crosslinkednprotein, which impedes cellular function by excluding macromolecular colloids (e.g.,nchromosomes and transport vesicles) from part of the water volume. The exponential increasenwith age in mortality rate, according to the Gompertz law, is correlated with the logarithmicndecrease in water volume available to a colloid in a polymer network, according to the Ogston-nLaurent equation. The Gompertz slope is proposed to be a measure of the rate of insolublenprotein accumulation. According to this model, aging is retarded and life span prolonged bynimpeding the accumulation of the insoluble protein.