Program Projects

The NIH's National Institute on Aging has awarded two Program Project Grants to members of the Barshop Institute:

Aging, Oxidative Stress, and Cell Death
Brian Herman, PhD, Director
Using a variety transgenic mouse models coupled with novel optical imaging approaches, program project investigators are testing the hypothesis that oxidative stress contributes to aging by alterations in mitochondrial structure and function.

Genetic and Epigenetic Studies of Aging
James R. Smith, PhD, Director
Investigators from six individual laboratories work together to answer questions regarding the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in aging and senescence. Model systems of cellular senescence include normal human fibroblasts, adrenocortical cells, melanocytes, and in vivo models of adrenocortical and hepatocyte cells. These studies examine the changes in gene expression that occur in cells as they age in vitro and in vivo and establish the differences and similarities in the pathways that lead to inhibition of cell proliferation.
 

Diquat-treated Tg(Gpx4) mice exhibit altered cytochrome c release from liver mitochondria. Ran et al., JBC (2004) 279:55137-55146

Hypothetical model for the role of CUGBP1 & CRT in cell proliferation & senescence. Iakova et al., EMBO (2004) 23:406-417