Model
Digital Document
Publisher
Florida Atlantic University
Description
DNA is damaged by many environmental factors like ultraviolet light from the
sun and even by by-products of normal metabolism in our bodies, for example reactive
oxygen species. A mouse model was used to test the effects DNA damage has on aging
and age-related diseases. Damaged DNA is an early sign of muscle aging. The ERCC1-
XPF complex is important because it repairs DNA. Using the Cre-Lox system, we
knocked-out the Ercc1 gene in differentiated myocytes or muscle fibers. We measured
body weight, fat content, muscle strength, and the ability of muscle to break down
glucose, and found no comparable differences between the mutant and wild type mice.
The histology also showed no significant difference between the two. These knockout
mice only lived to be four to six months old, as oppose to the wild-type mice, which can
live up to 35 months. Surprisingly, they died prematurely of heart disease. This
demonstrates that cardiac muscle is more sensitive to DNA damage than skeletal muscle.
sun and even by by-products of normal metabolism in our bodies, for example reactive
oxygen species. A mouse model was used to test the effects DNA damage has on aging
and age-related diseases. Damaged DNA is an early sign of muscle aging. The ERCC1-
XPF complex is important because it repairs DNA. Using the Cre-Lox system, we
knocked-out the Ercc1 gene in differentiated myocytes or muscle fibers. We measured
body weight, fat content, muscle strength, and the ability of muscle to break down
glucose, and found no comparable differences between the mutant and wild type mice.
The histology also showed no significant difference between the two. These knockout
mice only lived to be four to six months old, as oppose to the wild-type mice, which can
live up to 35 months. Surprisingly, they died prematurely of heart disease. This
demonstrates that cardiac muscle is more sensitive to DNA damage than skeletal muscle.
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