Abstract
Glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) is an antioxidant defense enzyme that plays an important role in detoxification of oxidative damage to membrane lipids. Because oxidative stress is proposed to play a causal role in aging, we compared the life spans of Gpx4 heterozygous knockout mice (Gpx4+/- mice) and wild-type mice (WT mice). To our surprise, the median life span of Gpx4 +/- mice (1029 days) was significantly longer than that of WT mice (963 days) even though the expression of Gpx4 was reduced approximately 50% in all tissues of Gpx4+/- mice. Pathological analysis revealed that Gpx4+/- mice showed a delayed occurrence of fatal tumor lymphoma and a reduced severity of glomerulonephritis. Compared to WT mice, Gpx4 +/- mice showed significantly increased sensitivity to oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. Our data indicate that lifelong reduction in Gpx4 increased life span and reduced/retarded age-related pathology most likely through alterations in sensitivity of tissues to apoptosis.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 932-942 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journals of Gerontology - Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2007 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine