Secretariat, Alumni Association, IDAC
Date	Tuesday, 11 April 2023, 16:00～17:00
Room	International Conference Room, Center for Smart-Aging Research,1F (IDAC), Web
Title	Biological thresholds to determine the timing and speed of aging
Speaker	Motoshi Hayano
Affiliation	Keio University, School of Medicine, Department of Neuropsychiatry
Organizer	Kozo Tanaka (Department of Molecular Oncology, ext 8491)
Abstract	While the DNA damage repair activity of SIRT6 plays a crucial role in rodent lifespan, the regulation of histone modifications and DNA methylation through Yamanaka factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) improves aging-associated phenotypes through the regulation of epigenetics in aging. To elucidate the threshold of the onset of aging and the epigenetics-mediated regulation of the aging speed, we have developed a mouse model, “ICE” mouse (for inducible changes in the epigenome), in which DNA damage is transiently induced in a tamoxifen-dependent manner (Kato et al., 2021 Dev. Cell; Yang and Hayano et al., Cell, in press). In ICE mice, “loss of identity” is observed, in which cell-specific gene expression and histone modifications are altered with age after DNA damage induction. In addition, induction of the aging phenotype in ICE mice requires a certain period of DNA damage, and the expression of histone/DNA modifiers and senescence genes is changed when the threshold is exceeded. In this seminar, we would like to discuss the molecular mechanisms that determine the “biological clock” and its diversity among species.