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A Doubling of Mouse Lifespan?
(Monday April 21 2008)
 | You might recall the PEPCK-Cmus mice reported last year: great health and lots of positive improvements in their metabolic biochemistry. They eat hugely, don't put on weight, are very active, and live long. That last item is starting to look impressive indeed: "A second surprising result was the apparent extended longevity of the PEPCK-Cmus mice; they lived almost 2 years longer than the controls and had normal litters of pups at 30-35 months of age (most mice stop being reproductively active at 12-18 months). We use the word 'apparent' because we have not as yet carried out a detailed aging study, involving multiple mice, which are followed at regular intervals over their lifetime; this type of study is currently in underway in our laboratory so hopefully we will be able to state unequivocally that the PEPCK-Cmus mice do live longer than controls." The present longevity record holder is a touch under 5 years for growth hormone manipulation, but this PEPCK-Cmus method leads to much more robust mice. The underlying mechanism is up for debate - it seems to be a polar opposite of longevity induced by calorie restriction biochemistry. |
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