Gene Responsible For Longer Lifespan Helps Cope-Up Stress by Karishma Abhishek on February 21, 2021 at 11:24 PM Nature Communications. Forkhead box protein O3 (FOXO3) . FOXO3, when exposed to oxidative stress, is involved in triggering programmed cell death (apoptosis) in the absence of survival factors, including neuronal cell death.
Early studies done by the team suggest that lack of FOXO3 gene in the mice brain renders them incapable of coping up with stressful conditions in the brain, which leads to the progressive death of neurons. FOXO3 thus preserves the brain s ability to regenerate by preventing stem cells from dividing until the environment will support the new cells survival.