In a recent study published in Science, an international team of researchers led by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have discovered gene clusters that influence mice longevity, with some clusters specifically affecting female mice. This study has the potential to help us better understand what determines longevity in humans.
"Some candidate genes impacted female life span while others affected the male life span," said Dr. Randy Strong of the Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at UT (University of Texas) Health San Antonio, and a co-author on the study. "One cluster of genes increased longevity of both sexes. In a rarity for these types of studies, the findings were made in a population of mice with genetic diversity comparable to human populations."
"The study models what happens in people," said Dr. James Nelson of the Barshop Institute, and a co-author on the study. "Unlike mice in many other studies, mice in this newly reported research are not all the same. Each has different genetic variants, resulting in slightly different proteins that do slightly different things, which together can impact aging."
Dr. Strong said the finding of genetic loci—clusters between 10 and 100 genes—that influence longevity only in females is both important and interesting.
"Females and males differ in almost every aspect of aging you can explore," said Dr. Strong. "They each must be studied, both to understand aging in the two sexes and to develop effective treatments. If we offer the same drug therapies to females that we offer to males, and females' aging is caused by different genes, we are not going to be as effective in our treatments."
Sources: Science
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