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Posted on Dec 24, 2002, 1 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
Results of a recent study suggest that a gene that encodes for a receptor of insulin-like growth factor type 1 (IGF-1) is an important regulator of lifespan in mammals. Dr Martin Holzenberger and colleagues at the Hopital Saint-Antoine in Paris, found that mice engineered to have just one copy of the gene appeared to be just the same as normal mice but had a 26% longer lifespan on average.
Results of a recent study suggest that a gene that encodes for a receptor of insulin-like growth factor type 1 (IGF-1) is an important regulator of lifespan in mammals. Dr Martin Holzenberger and colleagues at the Hopital Saint-Antoine in Paris, found that mice engineered to have just one copy of the gene appeared to be just the same as normal mice but had a 26% longer lifespan on average. Having one copy of the gene instead of the normal two copies, seemed to benefit female mice the most as they lived for a third (33%) longer than normal mice, while the lifespan of their male counterparts was increased by 16%. The scientists are not certain as to why having just one copy of the IGF-1 receptor gene should make the mice live for longer, although they suspect that their increased resistance to the cell-damaging effects of free radicals contributes to their increased longevity.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Nature advance online 2002;10.1038/nature01298
