Lifespan extension by conditions that inhibit translation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Hansen M, Taubert S, Crawford D, Libina N, Lee SJ, Kenyon C · 2007 · Aging Cell · Atlas ID HAN2007

What this study shows

The authors systematically tested whether lowering protein synthesis extends lifespan in the worm C. elegans. Reducing ribosomal proteins, the S6 kinase homologue rsks-1 or translation-initiation factors increased lifespan, and these perturbations, like TOR inhibition, increased resistance to heat stress. Different kinds of translation inhibition split into two groups: one that needed the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16 for the lifespan and stress effects and one that did not. The results linked TOR, but not sir-2.1, to the lifespan extension caused by dietary restriction in worms, and suggested that neither TOR inhibition nor dietary restriction works simply by reducing total protein synthesis. Boundary: Nematode only, with gene knockdown by RNAi or mutation; drafted from the abstract only, so effect sizes and which TOR experiments were new in this paper are not given here.

Abstract

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Many conditions that shift cells from states of nutrient utilization and growth to states of cell maintenance extend lifespan. We have carried out a systematic lifespan analysis of conditions that inhibit protein synthesis. We find that reducing the levels of ribosomal proteins, ribosomal-protein S6 kinase or translation-initiation factors increases the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans. These perturbations, as well as inhibition of the nutrient sensor target of rapamycin (TOR), which is known to increase lifespan, all increase thermal-stress resistance.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Caenorhabditis elegans: RNAi and mutants against ribosomal proteins, rsks-1 (S6 kinase), translation-initiation factors and TOR (let-363); daf-16 and eat-2 (dietary restriction) backgrounds; lifespan and thermal-stress assays); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type	4 - Animal Study
Model system	Caenorhabditis elegans: RNAi and mutants against ribosomal proteins, rsks-1 (S6 kinase), translation-initiation factors and TOR (let-363); daf-16 and eat-2 (dietary restriction) backgrounds; lifespan and thermal-stress assays
Journal	Aging Cell
Year	2007
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1111/j.1474-9726.2006.00267.x · PMID 17266679

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	RNAi / mutation of ribosomal proteins, rsks-1 (S6K), translation-initiation factors and TOR
Target	TOR-S6K-translation axis
Model	C. elegans
Effect	Reduced translation (incl. S6K knockdown) increases lifespan and thermal-stress resistance; DAF-16-dependent or -independent depending on the factor

In the Atlas

Cite this paper

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Hansen, M., Taubert, S., Crawford, D., Libina, N., Lee, S. J., & Kenyon, C. (2007). Lifespan extension by conditions that inhibit translation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Aging Cell. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-9726.2006.00267.x

@article{HAN2007,
  author       = {Hansen, M. and Taubert, S. and Crawford, D. and Libina, N. and Lee, S. J. and Kenyon, C.},
  title        = {{Lifespan extension by conditions that inhibit translation in Caenorhabditis elegans}},
  journal      = {Aging Cell},
  year         = {2007},
  doi          = {10.1111/j.1474-9726.2006.00267.x},
  note         = {PMID: 17266679},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record HAN2007) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HAN2007/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_HAN2007,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record HAN2007},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HAN2007/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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