Hallmarks of Aging

As cells age, chromosomes lose their stability. Genomic instability is a key hallmark of aging.

The telomeres get progressively shorter with age, making this a key hallmark.

As cells are exposed to environmental factors, they are subject to changes in their genome through epigenetic mechanisms. Such changes accumulate over time and have been correlated with the decline observed in aging cells.

As cells age, environmental stresses add up and mechanisms responsible for maintaining proper protein composition start to decline. Proteins lose their stability, autophagic processes start to fail, and misfolded proteins accumulate.

Metabolic activities can put stress on our cells. Too much activity, and changes in nutrient availability and composition cause cells to age faster.

As cells age, their mitochondria start to lose their integrity due to the build-up of oxidative stress. Compromised mitochondrial function leads to a number of events, such as increased apoptosis induction, that correlate with aging.

Cellular senescence is the point at which our cells stop dividing and growing due to damage or lack of necessary components. As cells age, they lose their ability to actively divide and start to undergo senescence.

As we age, stem cells eventually lose their ability to divide. We are unable to replace cells that have migrated, differentiated, or died. As a result, we show outward symbols of aging, such as grey hair.

Cells, as they age, show an increase in self-preserving signals that result in damage elsewhere. Altered intercellular communication with aging contributes to decline in tissue health.