Question:easy
Which of the following is a feature of aging cells?
Which of the following is a feature of aging cells?
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Lipofuscin, the wear-and-tear pigment, builds up steadily inside long-lived aging cells like neurons and cardiac myocytes.
Updated On: Jul 8, 2026
- Lipofuscin accumulation
- Increased oxidative phosphorylation
- Increased glycogen stores
- Increased nuclear material and mitochondria
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Think about a cell that never divides again.
Neurons and heart muscle cells stay with the body for decades without being replaced. Every bit of oxidative damage they take gets partly cleared by lysosomes, but a residue is always left behind.
Step 2: Name that residue.
That leftover material is lipofuscin, a golden brown granular pigment made of oxidized lipid and protein fragments. Because it cannot be broken down further, it just keeps collecting inside the cell year after year, which is why pathologists treat its presence as a sign of an aged, long lived cell.
Step 3: Test each wrong option against biology.
If oxidative phosphorylation went up with age, cells would get more energetic as they aged, but the opposite is true, mitochondrial output falls with accumulated mutations. Glycogen stores do not rise with age either, metabolic reserves shrink. Nuclear material and mitochondrial number do not increase, aging cells generally show fewer, abnormal mitochondria and an irregular nuclear shape.
Step 4: Settle on the answer.
\[ \boxed{\text{Lipofuscin accumulation}} \]
Neurons and heart muscle cells stay with the body for decades without being replaced. Every bit of oxidative damage they take gets partly cleared by lysosomes, but a residue is always left behind.
Step 2: Name that residue.
That leftover material is lipofuscin, a golden brown granular pigment made of oxidized lipid and protein fragments. Because it cannot be broken down further, it just keeps collecting inside the cell year after year, which is why pathologists treat its presence as a sign of an aged, long lived cell.
Step 3: Test each wrong option against biology.
If oxidative phosphorylation went up with age, cells would get more energetic as they aged, but the opposite is true, mitochondrial output falls with accumulated mutations. Glycogen stores do not rise with age either, metabolic reserves shrink. Nuclear material and mitochondrial number do not increase, aging cells generally show fewer, abnormal mitochondria and an irregular nuclear shape.
Step 4: Settle on the answer.
\[ \boxed{\text{Lipofuscin accumulation}} \]
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