The proposed work explores genetic and physiological factors that determine inter-individual differences in lifespan, using genetically identical C. elegans reared in a novel system that allows individuals to be followed throughout their lives in isolated, identical environments. Preliminary research using this method identified microRNA regulator of insulin/IGF-1-like signaling that can, early in adult life, predict almost haf of later lifespan variability. This Pathway to Independence award application includes a mentored career development plan for transition of the candidate, Dr. Zach Pincus, into an independent investigator, as well an accompanying research plan describing the proposed experiments on the determinants of individual lifespan, health, and stress-resistance. The candidate, Dr. Pincus, is a postdoctoral fellow at Yale, in the lab of Dr. Frank Slack in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. The work leading to his graduate degree in Biomedical Informatics at Stanford University was conducted in the lab of Dr. Julie Theriot in the Stanford Biochemistry Department, and focused on algorithms for representing and comparing the shapes of populations of single cells. In the Theriot lab, Dr. Pincus then applied these tools to biophysical studies on the molecular determinants of complex and large-scale organization such as cell shape and movement. The mentoring and career development plan will supplement his background, which is evenly split between bench biology and computational methods development, with training and instruction in each, and in the particular areas that this project involves: aging biology, nematode biology, mathematical analysis of dynamical systems, and light microscopy. Dr. Pincus's goal is to become a faculty member in an interdisciplinary bioscience, developmental biology, or similar department at an academic, private, or governmental facility, in which he can research the biology of inter-individual variability and how it relates to lifespan determination. This research on inter-individual variability requires a novel assay system developed by Dr. Pincus that allows individual C. elegans to be examined by light microscopy throughout their lives. The project proposes to measure early-life levels of various fluorescent reporters of relevant physiological processes including insulin signaling, developmental robustness, and stress responses, and to determine which if any of those processes determine later longevity and health. The project further proposes to determine, by several independent avenues of investigation, whether there are distinct long-lived, stress-resistant 'robust'cohorts of animals, distinct from more 'frail'individuals, as has long been proposed in the literature. This work has clear and significant implications for human health and longevity. The identification of biomarkers that predict or determine future stress-resistance, robustness, and longevity, which are currently extremely rare, will be of great value to an aging society as such markers may lead to the development of appropriate lifespan-prolonging interventions and the ability to target them to at-risk populations

Public Health Relevance

This project seeks to explore the non-genetic, non-environmental factors that determine a surprisingly large fraction of variability in lifespan. Does random damage accumulation cause certain individuals to die earlier than others, or is lifespan and/or stress-resistance determined earlier in life, perhaps even during development? Understanding the answer to this question will help direct the development of appropriate lifespan-prolonging interventions, and the identification of at-risk populations.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Career Transition Award (K99)
Project #
1K99AG042487-01
Application #
8353865
Study Section
National Institute on Aging Initial Review Group (NIA)
Program Officer
Guo, Max
Project Start
2012-08-01
Project End
2014-07-31
Budget Start
2012-08-01
Budget End
2013-07-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$96,735
Indirect Cost
$7,166
Name
Yale University
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
043207562
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06520
Inukai, Sachi; Pincus, Zachary; de Lencastre, Alexandre et al. (2018) A microRNA feedback loop regulates global microRNA abundance during aging. RNA 24:159-172
Pincus, Zachary; Mazer, Travis C; Slack, Frank J (2016) Autofluorescence as a measure of senescence in C. elegans: look to red, not blue or green. Aging (Albany NY) 8:889-98
Weicksel, Steven E; Mahadav, Assaf; Moyle, Mark et al. (2016) A novel small molecule that disrupts a key event during the oocyte-to-embryo transition in C. elegans. Development 143:3540-3548
Tevy, Maria Florencia; Giebultowicz, Jadwiga; Pincus, Zachary et al. (2013) Aging signaling pathways and circadian clock-dependent metabolic derangements. Trends Endocrinol Metab 24:229-37
Yam, Patricia T; Pincus, Zachary; Gupta, Gagan D et al. (2013) N-cadherin relocalizes from the periphery to the center of the synapse after transient synaptic stimulation in hippocampal neurons. PLoS One 8:e79679
Coburn, Cassandra; Allman, Erik; Mahanti, Parag et al. (2013) Anthranilate fluorescence marks a calcium-propagated necrotic wave that promotes organismal death in C. elegans. PLoS Biol 11:e1001613
Sycuro, Laura K; Rule, Chelsea S; Petersen, Timothy W et al. (2013) Flow cytometry-based enrichment for cell shape mutants identifies multiple genes that influence Helicobacter pylori morphology. Mol Microbiol 90:869-83
Kasinski, Andrea L; Pincus, Zachary (2012) Understanding the epigenetic interface between the cell and the genome: a supplemental issue of DNA and cell biology on epigenetics. DNA Cell Biol 31 Suppl 1:S1