While there are well-established mouse models to identify cancer-causing agents, similar models are not available to readily test and identify age-promoting agents. Recently, a mouse strain ( p16 LUC mice) was developed that can be used to evaluate the transcription of p16 INK4 , which is increasingly expressed during aging and in age-associated diseases.
In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation , Norman Sharpless and colleagues at the University of North Carolina evaluated potential age-promoting compounds, including arsenic, a high-fat diet, UV light, and cigarette smoke in p16 LUC mice. The authors found that a high fat diet did not accelerate p16 INK4 expression, but both UV light exposure and cigarette smoke exposure dramatically increased p16 INK4 expression compared to controls that had not been exposed to these age-promoting compounds.
This study demonstrates that p16 LUC mice are an appropriate model system for evaluating potential age-promoting compounds.
TITLE: p16INK4A- reporter mice reveal age-promoting effects of environmental toxicants
AUTHOR CONTACT: Norman E. Sharpless
UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone: 919.966.8212; E-mail: nes@med.unc.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/70960?key=d3965dabfff1a9a955b1
Journal of Clinical Investigation