Biorhythms, redundancy and reserve:The dynamic equilibrium in the interactions of biorhythms with the rhythms of the surrounding ecosystem forms the basis of life. The biorhythms can be categorized by their relationship to 24-h day cycle as circadian, ultradian and infradian. In addition, there are other rhythmic patterns generated outside the CNS, such as the cardiac rhythm. In addition, there are rhythmic contractions of muscles controlling gastrointestinal motility and uterine contractions. The organ reserve is the ability of an organ to endure recurring stressful conditions and restore the homeostasis and normal physiological function. There occurs age-related decline in physiological functions attributable to loss of organ reserve due to multiple factors.
Molecular basis of reserve and redundancy:The intermediary metabolism comprising of cellular biochemical reactions and metabolites is enriched with biochemical steps or intracellular structures exhibiting excess metabolic capacity than required for normal basic functions. In addition, the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) found in multi-copies, serves as a structural excess capacity for cellular energy metabolism. Similarly, the DNA repeats in telomeres serve as structural excess capacity for repair. The organ reserve is, thus, a joint contribution of excess metabolic capacities of several metabolic pathways and biochemical structures enabling a built-in robust metabolism and structural mechanisms for stress response and repair.
Physiology of metabolic reserve and redundancy:The living systems owe their survival to a series of complex biochemical pathways for maintenance and repair, and the defence systems creating the homeo-dynamic space which provides the buffering capacity for a biological system. The aging and the age-related diseases can be held as the consequences of a progressive shrinkage of the homeo-dynamic space, due to failure of maintenance and repair. The senescent changes occur in the cells, tissues and organs, and in turn affect the functioning of the biological systems. At subcellular level, mitochondrial oxidative stress and dysfunction play an important role in aging, and microRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of aging and age-related diseases.
Impact of senescence of organs and systems:Various stimuli appear to converge on certain pathways that influence cell cycle regulation, DNA repair and apoptosis, and the process of cellular senescence. At the cellular level, these pathways are regulated by the tumor suppressor proteins p53 and pRb. The p53 is a crucial mediator of the cellular response to damaged DNA and dysfunctional telomeres, and in turn activates the cyclin-dependent inhibitor p21. The senescence is induced at cellular level via the p53 pathway in response to DNA damage and telomere dysfunction, whereas the p16/pRb pathway mediates senescence caused by oncogenic stimuli, chromatin disruption, and other cellular stresses. The aging of organs is progressive and irreversible, and associated with increased incidence and prevalence of ...