Prospects in the Search for Peptides for Specific Regulation of Aging

Abstract

The interspecies differences in the mean lifespan and the composition of transposon sequences, the tissue- and stage-specific activation of which plays a role in the management of the cell differentiation process, allows the assumption that the regular processes that underlie aging are determined by the dysfunction of species-specific mobile elements. The presented literature data confirm this assumption and the key role of transposons in the regulation of gene expression during ontogenesis. The silencing mechanisms of mobile elements (which are depleted) are activated in terminally differentiated cells. This leads to dysfunction of the gene regulatory networks controlled by transposons, aging, and the development of age-associated pathologies. Transposons are capable of translocating into strictly defined loci of the genome, where they are transcribed into functional RNAs that are translated into peptides. It is assumed that the identification of activity changes associated with the aging of specific mobile elements via analysis of the noncoding RNA of transposon origin may be the basis for the development of ways to increase life expectancy and for targeted therapy of age-associated pathologies, including malignant neoplasms. In this regard, the study of peptides that affect the expression of specific transposons and noncoding RNAs may be a promising direction.