ReviewEvolutionaryConservationofTranscriptionFactorsAffectingLongevityGuillermoMartínezCorrales1andNazifAlic1,*Theincreasingnumberofolderpeopleisresultinginanincreasedprevalenceofage-relateddiseases.Researchhasshownthattheageingprocessitselfisapo-tentialpointofintervention.Indeed,geneexpressioncanbeoptimisedforhealthinolderagesthroughmanipulationoftranscriptionfactor(TF)activity.Thisreviewisfocusedontheever-growingnumberofTFswhoseeffectsonageingareevolu-tionarilyconserved.Theseregulateaplethoraoffunctions,includingstressresis-tance,metabolism,andgrowth.Theyareengagedincomplexinteractionswithinandbetweendifferentcelltypes,impactingthephysiologyoftheentireorganism.Sinceageingisnotprogrammed,theconservationoftheireffectsonlifespanismostlikelyareflectionoftheconservationoftheirfunctionsinyouth.TranscriptionalProgrammesforLongevityMostbutnotallanimalsage[1].Atapopulationlevel,ageingisuniversallyobservedasanincreasedlikelihoodofdeathwithadvancingage.Inanindividualanimal,itmanifestsinaplethoraofage-relatedchanges:adeclineinbiologicalfunction,alterationsinphysiologicalparameters,lossofhomeostaticresilience,overtdisease,andultimately,death[2].Historically,itwasoftenthoughtthatanimalsrarelyageinthewild,duetohighlevelsofextrinsichazards,suchaspreda-tion,infection,orotherenvironmentalfactors,killingthembeforeoldage[3,4].However,thisviewhasrecentlybeenchallenged,andinfact,ageingcanbeobservedinseveralwildpopulationsofmanydifferentanimalspecies[5–7].Specifically,inhumanpopulations,theimportanceofageinghassignificantlyrisenataglobalscale.Indeed,chronicdiseaseshaveincreasedtheirsignificanceinthelastdecadesnotonlyindevelopedcountries,butalsoinmostdevelopingcountries[8,9].Withprofoundchangestohumansocieties,includingthedevelopmentofmodernmedicine,humanlifeexpectancyhasincreaseddramaticallyandsohastheproportionofolderpeople[10].Asaresult,humansnowfacenewhealthchallenges;age-relateddiseasespreviouslyalmostunknownarereachingepidemicproportions.Theappearanceofageingasastochasticandin...
