The molecular mechanisms underlying the aging process have garnered much attention in recent decades because aging is the most significant risk factor for many chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cancer. Until recently, the aging process was not considered to be an actively regulated process; therefore, discovering that the insulin/insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling pathway is a lifespan-regulating genetic pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans was a major breakthrough that changed our understanding of the aging process. Currently, it is thought that animal lifespans are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The genes involved in lifespan regulation are often associated with major signaling pathways that link the rate of aging to environmental factors. Although many of the major mechanisms governing the aging process have been identified from studies in short-lived model organisms such as yeasts, worms and flies, the same mechanisms are frequently observed in mammals, indicating that the genes and signaling pathways that regulate lifespan are highly conserved among different species. This review summarizes the lifespan-regulating genes, with a specific focus on studies in C. elegans.

近几十年来，衰老过程背后的分子机制备受关注，因为衰老是许多慢性疾病（如 2 型糖尿病和癌症）的最重要危险因素。直到最近，老化过程才被认为是一个积极调节的过程。因此，发现胰岛素/胰岛素样生长因子-1信号通路是秀丽隐杆线虫的寿命调节遗传通路是一个重大突破，改变了我们对衰老过程的理解。目前，人们认为动物的寿命受遗传和环境因素的影响。参与寿命调节的基因通常与将衰老速度与环境因素联系起来的主要信号通路有关。尽管许多控制衰老过程的主要机制已经从酵母、蠕虫和苍蝇等短寿命模式生物的研究中确定，但在哺乳动物中经常观察到相同的机制，这表明调节寿命的基因和信号通路高度保存在不同的物种之间。这篇综述总结了调节寿命的基因，特别关注秀丽隐杆线虫的研究。