Molecular Processes of Aging

Aimed at advanced students as well as professionals and researchers, this advanced textbook provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge in the field of cellular aging. Starting out from the definition and description of an aged phenotype of selected tissues, the internationally recognized specialist authors discuss in detail the major molecular players in the aging process. These include both causative agents as well as regulatory circuits and signaling cascades known to affect senescence and their modulation by exogenous and endogenous factors. The text then goes on to introduce biomarkers of aging and laboratory models for the investigation of aging processes. Finally, potential anti-aging approaches are extensively discussed. Special features such as summary boxes and take-home messages in each chapter enhance the didactic value of this resource, while artwork is available to lecturers for download.

Lars-Oliver Klotz is assistant professor at the Department of Molecular Aging Research at IUF (Heinrich-Heine-University), Düsseldorf, Germany. He received his diploma and PhD degrees in biochemistry from the Universities of Tübingen (Germany) and Düsseldorf (Germany), respectively, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA. He obtained his habilitation degree from Düsseldorf University (2002) and was recipient of the Catherine Pasquier-Award of the Society of Free Radical Research-Europe (2006). His research interests include signal transduction processes involved in the regulation of cellular senescence and the biochemistry of oxidative stress.

Judith Haendeler is assistant professor at the Department of Molecular Aging Research at IUF, Düsseldorf. After receiving her PhD in chemistry from the University of Cologne, she received a fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and worked as a senior post-doctoral researcher at the University of Seattle and at the University of Rochester, NY, USA. As an assistant professor, she was then head of the group "Vascular signalling and aging research" at the University of Frankfurt. She is a professional member of the American Heart Association, of the German Society of Cardiology, of the Signal transduction Society and of the German Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

Peter Schroeder is a group leader at the Department of Cell Biology at IUF, Düsseldorf, Germany. As a principal investigator, he focuses on extrinsic aging processes and the signaling events involved. Dr. Schroeder obtained his academic degrees from Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany. He has authored several publications on antioxidants, extrinsic aging and mitochondria and was granted the Society of Free Radical Research-Europe Young Investigator Award in 2006. He is reviewer for several international journals in the field.

Preliminary List of Contents:

INTRODUCTION
A Definition of Terms
Hallmarks of Aging
PLAYERS IN AGING
Telomeres, Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase
Mitochondria
Insulin Signaling
Further Signaling Processes Involved in Aging
METHODS
Age-Associated Biomarkers
Aging-Related Biomarkers
MODELS FOR THE STUDY OF AGING PROCESSES
Yeast
Caenorhabditis Elegans
Drosophila
Mouse
Primates
Mammalian Cell Culture Models
ANTI-AGING APPROACHES: MEDICINE AND FOOD
Overview on Anti-Aging Approaches ("The Good, The Bad and The Ugly")