Aging of multicellular and unicellular eukaryotic organisms is a highly complex biological phenomenon that affects a plethora of processes within cells. This wide array of longevity-defining cellular processes - which are governed by an evolutionarily conserved signaling network - includes oxidative metabolism and protein synthesis in mitochondria, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, NAD+ homeostasis, amino acid biosynthesis and degradation, ammonium and amino acid uptake, ribosome biogenesis and translation, proteasomal protein degradation, nuclear DNA replication, chromatin assembly and maintenance, actin organization, apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy, protein folding, stress response, signal transduction, cell cycle, and cell growth. The focus of this Frontiers Special Topic Issue is on an important conceptual advance in our understanding of how cells integrate and control these numerous processes and how genetic, dietary and pharmacological anti-aging interventions extend longevity by altering their functional states and spatiotemporal dynamics. The Issue will highlight the various strategies used by evolutionarily diverse organisms for coordinating these longevity-defining cellular processes in space and time, critically evaluate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying such coordination, and outline the most important unanswered questions and directions for future research in this vibrant and rapidly evolving field.
Aging of multicellular and unicellular eukaryotic organisms is a highly complex biological phenomenon that affects a plethora of processes within cells. This wide array of longevity-defining cellular processes - which are governed by an evolutionarily conserved signaling network - includes oxidative metabolism and protein synthesis in mitochondria, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, NAD+ homeostasis, amino acid biosynthesis and degradation, ammonium and amino acid uptake, ribosome biogenesis and translation, proteasomal protein degradation, nuclear DNA replication, chromatin assembly and maintenance, actin organization, apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy, protein folding, stress response, signal transduction, cell cycle, and cell growth. The focus of this Frontiers Special Topic Issue is on an important conceptual advance in our understanding of how cells integrate and control these numerous processes and how genetic, dietary and pharmacological anti-aging interventions extend longevity by altering their functional states and spatiotemporal dynamics. The Issue will highlight the various strategies used by evolutionarily diverse organisms for coordinating these longevity-defining cellular processes in space and time, critically evaluate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying such coordination, and outline the most important unanswered questions and directions for future research in this vibrant and rapidly evolving field.