Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Aug 19;4(2):145-54.
doi: 10.2203/dose-response.05-008.Minois.

The hormetic effects of hypergravity on longevity and aging

Nadège Minois  1
Affiliations

The hormetic effects of hypergravity on longevity and aging

Nadège Minois. Dose Response. .

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on the effects of hypergravity (HG, gravity levels higher than 1g, the terrestrial gravity) on longevity and aging. The different studies showed that life-long exposures to high gravity levels decreased longevity and accelerated the age-related decline observed on some physiological and behavioral variables. In contrast, chronic exposure to HG increased resistance to heat in young and middle-aged Drosophila melanogaster. A short exposure to HG at the beginning of adult life increased male longevity and delayed behavioral aging in D. melanogaster. All these results show that HG acts as a hormetic factor. Long exposures to HG have deleterious effects on longevity and aging, whereas short exposures have beneficial effects. Some potential mechanisms of action of the beneficial effects of HG are also reviewed here. However, the ones tested so far (heat shock proteins and antioxidant defense) have proven unable to explain the hormetic effects of HG and their mechanisms of action are still unknown.

Keywords: Aging; Hypergravity; Longevity; Metabolism; Stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Allen RG, Sohal RS. Life-lengthening effects of gamma-radiation on the adult housefly, Musca domestica. Mech Ageing Dev. 1982;20:369–375. - PubMed
    1. Calabrese EJ, Baldwin LA. Scientific foundations of hormesis. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2001;31:351–695. - PubMed
    1. Caratero A, Courtade M, Bonnet L, Planel H, Caratero C. Effect of a continuous gamma irradiation at very low dose on the life span of mice. Gerontol. 1998;44:272–276. - PubMed
    1. Daligcon BC, Oyama J. Increased uptake and utilization of glucose by diaphragms of rats exposed to chronic centrifugation. Am J Physiol. 1975;228:42–46. - PubMed
    1. David J, Van Herrewege J, Fouillet P. Quantitative under-feeding of Drosophila : effects on adult longevity and fecundity. Exp Gerontol. 1971;6:249–257. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources