A mouse model to evaluate potential age-promoting compounds

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.