Thursday, January 2, 2014

Idebenone and Resveratrol Extend Lifespan and Improve Motor Function of HtrA2 Knockout Mice


Heterozygous loss-of-function mutation of the human gene for the mitochondrial protease HtrA2 has been associated with increased risk to develop mitochondrial dysfunction, a process known to contribute to neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's disease (HD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Knockout of HtrA2 in mice also leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and to phenotypes that resemble those found in neurodegenerative disorders and, ultimately, lead to death of animals around postnatal day 30. Here, we show that Idebenone, a synthetic antioxidant of the coenzyme Q family, and Resveratrol, a bioactive compound extracted from grapes, are both able to ameliorate this phenotype. Feeding HtrA2 knockout mice with either compound extends lifespan and delays worsening of the motor phenotype.-link

In addition to extending the lifespan of obese mice, mice with alzheimer's like pathology and accelerated senescence mice, now with this study we see that in mice with genetic abnormality in the mitochondria lifespan's also extended.

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