T. Keith Blackwell: "Systemic detoxification, insulin-like signaling, and aging in C. elegans"

Professor T. Keith Blackwell
Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, USA

Systemic detoxification, insulin-like signaling, and aging in C. elegans

One of the most exciting observations of recent years is that insulin/IGF-1-like signaling (IIS) and other genetically defined mechanisms have profound effects on longevity in model organisms. We are using the C. elegans model to study a transcription regulator (SKN-1) that controls several mechanisms that detoxify free radicals and other reactive molecules, or repair cellular structures. In my lecture, I will describe studies of SKN-1 that shed light on IIS and other mechanisms that influence longevity, and that reveal remarkable complexity in organismal defenses against stress.