title: Survival study of metallothionein-1 transgenic mice and respective controls (C57BL/6J): influence of a zinc-enriched environment.
abstract: The role of metallothioneins (MTs) in aging is not completely understood. Several studies have shown evidence that these proteins could represent a defense system against oxidative damage, but survival studies on mice overexpressing MTs are poor. Here we describe a survival study performed on old MT-1-overexpressing mice (MT-TG) and their respective controls (C57BL/6J) fed a standard or zinc (Zn)-supplemented diet. MT-TG mice had significantly increased survival compared with control. Zn supplementation affects the survival curves of MT-TG and C57BL/6J mice differently. This study poses the basis for intervention based on gene therapy with MTs to enhance the health span of laboratory mice.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition and Aging Centre, Scientific and Technological Pole INRCA, Ancona, Italy. m.malavolta@inrca.it
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malavolta
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Basso
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piacenza
authors.forename: Robertina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Giacconi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Costarelli
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pierpaoli
authors.forename: Eugenio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mocchegiani
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D008297:Male; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D023421:Models, Animal; D008954:Models, Biological; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D013997:Time Factors; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D008668:Metallothionein; D015032:Zinc