Ageing begins early: developmental origins of ageing trajectories.

Abstract

Ageing has traditionally been viewed as a process of late-life organismal deterioration, with interventions aimed at slowing ageing being administered after the ageing process has already begun. However, recent advances in quantifying ageing indicate that the process of molecular ageing starts as early as the end of gastrulation. Further, growing evidence suggests that the foundations of how different systems of an organism age are established during prenatal and postnatal development. Herein, we review the impact of early-life environmental conditions on disease susceptibility, adaptation, energy metabolism, microbiome and neurodevelopmental processes to ascertain how changes early in life can affect ageing-related features late in life. We also link growth, reproductive capacity and ageing by providing examples when the balance between longevity and reproduction is shifted towards a longer life through the growth axis at a cost of fecundity across species. We encourage researchers to investigate interventions aimed at mitigating ageing during the developmental period of life, with the important note that such interventions must be assessed with extra caution, given that many life-extending strategies may attenuate growth and reproduction, which may be detrimental for the organism during development. This article is part of the theme issue 'Developmental circuits in ageing'.