A gene which appears to be a “master control gene for the skin” may hold the key to youth, suggests a new study in mice. The finding could lead to breakthroughs in anti-ageing strategies, skin care and even chemotherapy. The gene p63, a sister gene to the cancer suppressing p53 gene, was found to accelerate ageing in adult mice when it was “switched off” by researchers.Mice which had the gene completely switched off using a sophisticated genetic technique, suffered premature ageing. Symptoms included becoming hunchbacked, losing hair and losing weight. Loss of p63 also cut short their lives – by about 23% – compared with mice with normal p63 expression.The gene may shed light on understanding the ageing process, says Alea Mills, an assistant professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, US, who led the study. “I absolutely think it will be key in trying to understand what to avoid,” she says, for example in investigating the link between UV light and ageing.
