title: Hormone levels and cataract scores as sex-specific, mid-life predictors of longevity in genetically heterogeneous mice.
abstract: Serum levels of thyroxine (T4), leptin, and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), as well as cataract severity, were evaluated as predictors of life span in a population of genetically heterogeneous mice (UM-HET3). Long life span was predicted by low levels of leptin at age 4 months in females, and by low levels of IGF-I at age 15 months and high levels of T4 at age 4 months, in males. Cataract severity at either 18 or 24 months was also a significant predictor of life span in females only, but in contrast to what has been reported in human studies, relatively severe cataract was correlated with longer life span. Additional work is needed to evaluate the role of these hormones as potential modulators of the aging process, and to resolve the conflicting data obtained for cataract severity as a predictor of life span.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Andrzej T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Galecki
authors.forename: Stephen L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Pinkosky
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002386:Cataract / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism*; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D013045:Species Specificity; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D013974:Thyroxine