Research Perspective Volume 3, Issue 9 pp 896—905

Epidermal growth factor and aging: A signaling molecule reveals a new eye opening function

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Figure 2. Multiple pathways interact with the EGF pathway to regulate longevity. Different steps from multiple signal transduction pathways known to regulate longevity are shown on each row, including extrinsic inputs into the pathway (e.g., nutrient status, environmental stress, et cetera), extracellular ligands, transmembrane receptors, intracellular signaling cascades, transcription factors, and ultimate physiological outputs. Arrows indicate positive “stimulatory” genetic interactions, whereas T-bars indicate negative “repressive” genetic interactions. Dotted lines indicate feedbacks loops. Red letters indicate genes whose wild-type function ultimately acts to shorten lifespan, whereas green letters indicate genes whose wild-type function ultimately acts to enhance lifespan. Not all interactions should be considered of equal weight (e.g., different signaling pathways are activated depending on the timing and degree of nutrient deprivation). Additional reviews describe these other signaling pathways in more detail [30, 81-91].