Reduction in glutathione peroxidase 4 increases life span through increased sensitivity to apoptosis

Glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4) is an antioxidant defense enzyme that plays an important role in detoxification of oxidative damage to membrane lipids. Because oxidative stress is proposed to play a causal role in aging, we compared the life spans of Gpx4 heterozygous knockout mice (Gpx4(+/-) mice) and wild-type mice (WT mice). To our surprise, the median life span of Gpx4(+/-) mice (1029 days) was significantly longer than that of WT mice (963 days) even though the expression of Gpx4 was reduced approximately 50% in all tissues of Gpx4(+/-) mice. Pathological analysis revealed that Gpx4(+/-) mice showed a delayed occurrence of fatal tumor lymphoma and a reduced severity of glomerulonephritis. Compared to WT mice, Gpx4(+/-) mice showed significantly increased sensitivity to oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. Our data indicate that lifelong reduction in Gpx4 increased life span and reduced/retarded age-related pathology most likely through alterations in sensitivity of tissues to apoptosis.