Extension of Life-Span by Loss of CHICO, a Drosophila Insulin Receptor Substrate Protein

Authors

David Clancy, University College London, Wolfson House, 4 Stephenson Way, London
David Gems, University College London, Wolfson House, 4 Stephenson Way, London
Lawrence G. Harshman, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Sean Oldham, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
Hugo Stocker, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
Ernest Hafen, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
Sally Leevers, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, 91 Riding House Street, London W1W 7BS, UK
Linda Partridge, University College London, Wolfson House, 4 Stephenson Way, London

Date of this Version

4-6-2001

Comments

Published in Science 292 (April 6, 2001), pp. 104–106; doi 10.1126/science.1057991 Copyright © 2001 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Used by permission. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5514/104

Abstract

The Drosophila melanogaster gene chico encodes an insulin receptor substrate that functions in an insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, insulin/IGF signaling regulates adult longevity. We found that mutation of chico extends fruit fl y median life-span by up to 48% in homozygotes and 36% in heterozygotes. Extension of life-span was not a result of impaired oogenesis in chico females, nor was it consistently correlated with increased stress resistance. The dwarf phenotype of chico homozygotes was also unnecessary for extension of life-span. The role of insulin/IGF signaling in regulating animal aging is therefore evolutionarily conserved.