PROVIDENCE – Reducing the amount of a fundamental gene known as Myc yielded longer lifespans in laboratory mice in a new study led by Brown University scientists.
The study, published in Cell, was the first such finding regarding the gene in a mammal.
Myc is in the genomes of all animals, from single-celled organisms to humans. And it is a red-hot topic of biomedical research, largely because it has already been shown to be a regulator of cell proliferation, growth and death
Myc is a necessary ingredient in animal life, but too much of the protein that the gene encodes has been linked to cancer. Drug developers have been targeting Myc-related therapies for some time.
When Brown scientists bred lab mice to only have a single copy of the gene rather than the normal two, the mice lived 15 percent longer than average. the experimental mice also showed signs of better health into old age.
Senior study author John Sedivy, the Hermon C. Bumpus Professor of Biology and professor of medical science at Brown, said that the results were robust.
“The animals are definitely aging slower,” Bumpus said. “They are maintaining the function of their organs and tissues for longer periods of time.”
The mice bred with only a single copy of Myc also grew to be 15 percent smaller than normal mice.
