Investigation of the physiological consequences of Cu/Zn SOD deficiency in drosophila melanogaster

衰老的自由基理论表明，衰老是由于细胞成分的损伤积累造成的，导致细胞死亡、组织和器官衰竭，最终导致有机体死亡。这种损害的来源被认为是活性氧物种(ROS)，它是正常新陈代谢的有毒副产物。ROS与多种与年龄相关的疾病有关，包括糖尿病、癌症、动脉粥样硬化和神经退行性疾病。ROS是高度活性的分子，能够破坏细胞成分，包括DNA、蛋白质和细胞膜。除了直接损伤细胞外，ROS还通过调节许多控制基因表达的细胞信号通路发挥关键的生理作用。不幸的是，我们对ROS生物学作用的大多数见解都来自于细胞培养系统的研究，它们对完整有机体中功能组织的意义仍然不确定。

The free radical theory of aging suggests that aging results from an accumulation of damage to cellular components, resulting in cell death, tissue and organ failure, and eventually the death of the organism. The source of this damage is believed to be reactive oxygen species (ROS), produced as toxic byproducts of normal metabolism. ROS are implicated in a variety of age-related disorders including diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative disease. ROS are highly reactive molecules capable of damaging cellular components including DNA, proteins, and membranes. As well as directly damaging cells, ROS play critical physiological roles by modulating many of the cell signaling pathways which control gene expression. Unfortunately, most of our insights into the biological roles of ROS have been derived from studies in cell culture systems, and their significance to functioning tissue in an intact whole organism remains uncertain.