Homeodomain-interacting protein kinase maintains neuronal homeostasis during normal Caenorhabditis elegans aging and systemically regulates longevity from serotonergic and GABAergic neurons.

Aging and the age-associated decline of the proteome is determined in part through neuronal control of evolutionarily conserved transcriptional effectors, which safeguard homeostasis under fluctuating metabolic and stress conditions by regulating an expansive proteostatic network. We have discovered the Caenorhabditis elegans homeodomain-interacting protein kinase (HPK-1) acts as a key transcriptional effector to preserve neuronal integrity, function, and proteostasis during aging. Loss of hpk-1 results in drastic dysregulation in expression of neuronal genes, including genes associated with neuronal aging. During normal aging hpk-1 expression increases throughout the nervous system more broadly than any other kinase. Within the aging nervous system, hpk-1 induction overlaps with key longevity transcription factors, which suggests that hpk-1 expression mitigates natural age-associated physiological decline. Consistently, pan-neuronal overexpression of hpk-1 extends longevity, preserves proteostasis both within and outside of the nervous system, and improves stress resistance. Neuronal HPK-1 improves proteostasis through kinase activity. HPK-1 functions cell non-autonomously within serotonergic and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurons to improve proteostasis in distal tissues by specifically regulating distinct components of the proteostatic network. Increased serotonergic HPK-1 enhances the heat shock response and survival to acute stress. In contrast, GABAergic HPK-1 induces basal autophagy and extends longevity, which requires mxl-2 (MLX), hlh-30 (TFEB), and daf-16 (FOXO). Our work establishes hpk-1 as a key neuronal transcriptional regulator critical for preservation of neuronal function during aging. Further, these data provide novel insight as to how the nervous system partitions acute and chronic adaptive response pathways to delay aging by maintaining organismal homeostasis.

Proteins are essential for nearly every cellular process to sustain a healthy organism. A complex network of pathways and signalling molecules regulates the proteins so that they work correctly in a process known as proteostasis. As the body ages, this network can become damaged, which leads to the production of faulty proteins. Many proteins end up being misfolded ­ in other words, they are misshapen on the molecular level, which can be toxic for the cell. A build-up of such misfolded proteins is implicated in several neurological conditions, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. Cells have various ways to detect and respond to internal stressors, such as tissue or organ damage. For example, specific proteins in the nervous system can raise a 'central' alert when damage is detected, which then primes and coordinates the body's systems to respond in the peripheral cells and tissues. But exactly how this happens is still unclear. To find out more about the central coordination of stress responses, Lazaro-Pena et al. studied one such sensor protein, called HPK-1, in the roundworm C. elegans. They first overexpressed the protein in various tissues. This revealed that only when HPK-1 was overactive in nerve tissue, it protected proteins and prolonged the lifespan of the worms. An increased amount of HPK-1 improved the health span of the worms and older worms also moved better. However, genetically manipulated worms lacking HPK-1 in their nerve cells showed a faster decline in nervous system health as they aged, which could be reversed once HPK-1 was activated again. Lazaro-Pena et al. then measured the amount of HPK-1 in worms at different stages of their life. This showed that as the worms aged, the amount of HPK-1 increased in the nerve cells. The nerve cells in which HPK-1 levels increased overlapped with an increased expression of proteins associated with longevity. Moreover, when HPK-1 was overexpressed, it stimulated the release of other cell signals, which then triggered protective responses to prevent the misfolding and aggregation of proteins and to help degrade damaged proteins. This study shows for the first time that HPK-1 appears to play a protective role during normal ageing and that it may act as a key switch to stimulate other protective mechanisms. These findings may give rise to new insights into how the nervous system can coordinate many different stress responses, and ultimately delay ageing throughout the whole body.

Homeodomain-interacting protein kinase maintains neuronal homeostasis during normal Caenorhabditis elegans aging and systemically regulates longevity from serotonergic and GABAergic neurons.

Aging and the age-associated decline of the proteome is determined in part through neuronal control of evolutionarily conserved transcriptional effectors, which safeguard homeostasis under fluctuating metabolic and stress conditions by regulating an expansive proteostatic network. We have discovered the Caenorhabditis elegans h omeodomain-interacting p rotein k inase (HPK-1) acts as a key transcriptional effector to preserve neuronal integrity, function, and proteostasis during aging. Loss of hpk-1 results in drastic dysregulation in expression of neuronal genes, including genes associated with neuronal aging. During normal aging hpk-1 expression increases throughout the nervous system more broadly than any other kinase. Within the aging nervous system, hpk-1 induction overlaps with key longevity transcription factors, which suggests hpk-1 expression mitigates natural age-associated physiological decline. Consistently, pan-neuronal overexpression of hpk-1 extends longevity, preserves proteostasis both within and outside of the nervous system, and improves stress resistance. Neuronal HPK-1 improves proteostasis through kinase activity. HPK-1 functions cell non-autonomously within serotonergic and GABAergic neurons to improve proteostasis in distal tissues by specifically regulating distinct components of the proteostatic network. Increased serotonergic HPK-1 enhances the heat shock response and survival to acute stress. In contrast, GABAergic HPK-1 induces basal autophagy and extends longevity, which requires mxl-2 (MLX), hlh-30 (TFEB), and daf-16 (FOXO). Our work establishes hpk-1 as a key neuronal transcriptional regulator critical for preservation of neuronal function during aging. Further, these data provide novel insight as to how the nervous system partitions acute and chronic adaptive response pathways to delay aging by maintaining organismal homeostasis.

DNA methylation clocks tick in naked mole rats but queens age more slowly than nonbreeders.

Naked mole rats (NMRs) live an exceptionally long life, appear not to exhibit age-related decline in physiological capacity and are resistant to age-related diseases. However, it has been unknown whether NMRs also evade aging according to a primary hallmark of aging: epigenetic changes. To address this question, we profiled n = 385 samples from 11 tissue types at loci that are highly conserved between mammalian species using a custom array (HorvathMammalMethylChip40). We observed strong epigenetic aging effects and developed seven highly accurate epigenetic clocks for several tissues (pan-tissue, blood, kidney, liver, skin clocks) and two dual-species (human-NMR) clocks. The skin clock correctly estimated induced pluripotent stem cells derived from NMR fibroblasts to be of prenatal age. The NMR epigenetic clocks revealed that breeding NMR queens age more slowly than nonbreeders, a feature that is also observed in some eusocial insects. Our results show that despite a phenotype of negligible senescence, the NMR ages epigenetically.

Proteomics of Long-Lived Mammals.

Mammalian species differ up to 100-fold in their aging rates and maximum lifespans. Long-lived mammals appear to possess traits that extend lifespan and healthspan. Genomic analyses have not revealed a single pro-longevity function that would account for all longevity effects. In contrast, it appears that pro-longevity mechanisms may be complex traits afforded by connections between metabolism and protein functions that are impossible to predict by genomic approaches alone. Thus, metabolomics and proteomics studies will be required to understand the mechanisms of longevity. Several examples are reviewed that demonstrate the naked mole rat (NMR) shows unique proteomic signatures that contribute to longevity by overcoming several hallmarks of aging. SIRT6 is also discussed as an example of a protein that evolves enhanced enzymatic function in long-lived species. Finally, it is shown that several longevity-related proteins such as Cip1/p21, FOXO3, TOP2A, AKT1, RICTOR, INSR, and SIRT6 harbor posttranslational modification (PTM) sites that preferentially appear in either short- or long-lived species and provide examples of crosstalk between PTM sites. Prospects of enhancing lifespan and healthspan of humans by altering metabolism and proteoforms with drugs that mimic changes observed in long-lived species are discussed.

Naked Mole Rat Cells Have a Stable Epigenome that Resists iPSC Reprogramming.

Naked mole rat (NMR) is a valuable model for aging and cancer research due to its exceptional longevity and cancer resistance. We observed that the reprogramming efficiency of NMR fibroblasts in response to OSKM was drastically lower than that of mouse fibroblasts. Expression of SV40 LargeT antigen (LT) dramatically improved reprogramming of NMR fibroblasts. Inactivation of Rb alone, but not p53, was sufficient to improve reprogramming efficiency, suggesting that NMR chromatin may be refractory to reprogramming. Analysis of the global histone landscape revealed that NMR had higher levels of repressive H3K27 methylation marks and lower levels of activating H3K27 acetylation marks than mouse. ATAC-seq revealed that in NMR, promoters of reprogramming genes were more closed than mouse promoters, while expression of LT led to massive opening of the NMR promoters. These results suggest that NMR displays a more stable epigenome that resists de-differentiation, contributing to the cancer resistance and longevity of this species.