Naked mole-rats maintain healthy skeletal muscle and Complex IV mitochondrial enzyme function into old age.

ABSTRACT: The naked mole-rat (NMR) Heterocephalus glaber is an exceptionally long-lived rodent, living up to 32 years in captivity. This extended lifespan is accompanied by a phenotype of negligible senescence, a phenomenon of very slow changes in the expected physiological characteristics with age. One of the many consequences of normal aging in mammals is the devastating and progressive loss of skeletal muscle, termed sarcopenia, caused in part by respiratory enzyme dysfunction within the mitochondria of skeletal muscle fibers. Here we report that NMRs avoid sarcopenia for decades. Muscle fiber integrity and mitochondrial ultrastructure are largely maintained in aged animals. While mitochondrial Complex IV expression and activity remains stable, Complex I expression is significantly decreased. We

SUBMITTER: Stoll EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5270680 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature