DAF-12 Background Information
Several proteins involved in regulating the aging process in C. elegans have been identified. DAF-2, DAF-12, DAF-16, and AGE-1 (also known as DAF-23) regulate lifespan via an insulin-signaling pathway (1-3). Specifically, decreases in DAF-2 signaling induce metabolic and developmental changes, as in mammalian metabolic control by the insulin receptor (1). DAF-12 regulates the developmental stage transitions of larval diapause, developmental age, and adult longevity (4). DAF-16 encodes a member of the hepatocyte nuclear factor 3 (HNF-3)/forkhead family of transcriptional regulators (2). AGE-1 is a homologue of mammalian phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K) catalytic subunits and is required for non-dauer development and normal senescence (3). CLK-1, a homolog of the yeast COQ7/CAT5 protein, is thought to exert its effects on longevity via the synthesis of ubiquinone, an essential component of electron transport (5-8). Mortal germline (MRT) checkpoint protein, MRT-2, is required for germline immortality and telomere replication (9).
