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Cell size and growth rate are major determinants of replicative lifespan

Volume 10, Issue 1   January 1, 2011
Pages 144 - 155
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/cc.10.1.14455
Authors: Jingye Yang, Huzefa Dungrawala, Hui Hua, Arkadi Manukyan, Lesley Abraham, Wesley Lane, Holly Mead, Jill Wright and Brandt L. Schneider

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Abstract:
Yeast cells, like mammalian cells, enlarge steadily as they age. Unabated cell growth can promote cellular senescence; however, the significance of the relationship between size and cellular lifespan is not well understood. Herein, we report a genetic link between cell size, growth rate and lifespan. Mutations that increase cell size concomitantly increase growth rate and decrease lifespan. As a result, large cells grow, divide and age dramatically faster than small cells. Conversely, small cell mutants age slowly and are long-lived. Investigation of the mechanisms involved suggests that attainment of a maximal size modulates lifespan. Indeed, cumulative results revealed that life expectancy is size-dependent, and that the rate at which cells age is determined in large part by the amount of cell growth per generation.

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