| Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology |
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| Sige Zou, Ph.D., Investigator Functional Genomics Unit |
 Dr. Sige Zou received his B.S. in Genetics and Genetic Engineering in 1990 from Fudan University, Shanghai, China and his Ph.D. in 1996 from Iowa State University. He performed his postdoctoral training at the University of California San Francisco working on "Aging in Drosophila melanogaster". He worked as a senior scientitist with Bio-Rad Laboratories before coming to the NIA Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology in 2004 as an Investigator in the Functional Genomics Unit.Research Interests: Aging is a fundamental and multi-factorial biological process that occurs in most eukaryotic organisms. Genetic analyses of model organisms have uncovered mutations in a number of genes that can affect lifespan. We have been applying genomic and genetic approaches to study mechanisms of aging at molecular, cellular and tissue levels and investigate prolongevity interventions that modulate aging processes. |
| To address how different tissues age, we have begun systematic identification of tissue-specific factors that are involved in aging processes. We have measured global transcription profiles of aging for seven tissues from the fly Drosophila melanogaster, including brain, muscle and tissues in the digestive and reproductive systems, which represent a wide range of functional tissues in flies. For each of these tissues, we have identified hundreds of genes showing significant changes at the transcript levels with increasing age. We are currently characterizing functions of these tissue-specific age-associated genes in modulating lifespan. |
| A number of mutations that can prolong lifespan in model organisms have been found in evolutionarily conserved genes, supporting the existence of evolutionarily conserved pathways to modulate lifespan and influence aging. Previously we found that repression of genes functioning in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and up-regulation of genes involved in protein degradation pathways were conserved features of aging by comparing age-associated changes between D. melanogaster and C. elegans in collaboration with research groups at the University of California at San Francisco. Some of these conserved genes have been shown to be involved in regulating lifespan in C. elegans by several research groups. We have been systematically investigating whether these genes regulate lifespan in D. melanogaster. |
| Lifespan has been shown to be influenced by a number of non-genetic factors, including dietary restriction and supplementations of chemical compounds or fruit extracts. In collaboration with Dr. Cathy Wolkow and Dr. James Carey, we have been using three evolutionarily distant invertebrates to investigate the effects of non-genetic factors in modulating lifespan. Using the nematode C. elegans, we have developed a novel paradigm to investigate dietary regulation of lifespan. Using C. elegans, D. melanogaster and Mexican fruit flies A. ludens, we have examined the effects of two isoforms of Vitamin E, alpha- and gamma-tocopherols on modulating lifespan. We have found both tocopherols have no or slight effects on lifespan of these species, suggesting that tocopherol supplements do not significantly alter lifespan. We will continue testing more compounds using the multi-species lifespan assays and investing molecular mechanisms of prolongevity interventions. |
| In summary, we have developed several approaches to conduct a systematic study on tissue-specific regulation of aging processes at the genomic level and to investigate evolutionarily conserved genes and compounds in modulating lifespan. This will lay a foundation for us and other researchers to speed up investigation on mechanisms of aging at the molecular and cellular levels and develop efficient aging intervention strategies for human. |
| Contact Information: Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology Biomedical Research Center, room 09C232 251 Bayview Boulevard, Suite 100 Baltimore, MD 21224-6825 Phone 410-558-8461 Fax 410-558-8302 E mail zous@mail.nih.gov For more information about the Laboratory: http://www.grc.nia.nih.gov/branches/leg/fgu.htm |
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