BMI SEMINAR // The SAMP8 Mouse Model: Linking neurodegeneration in aging with Epigenetics

The Senescence Accelerated Mice Prone 8 (SAMP8) is a mice model that has revealed cognitive and behavioral disturbances, occurring at early age and that worsen with senescence in comparison with resistant to senescence strain (SAMR1). These cognitive trends are accompanied by general hallmarks of senescence and neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) characteristics, such as tau hypephosphorylation and aberrant APP processing. Therefore, alterations in SAMP8 brain comprise a scenario for the development and progression of an AD-like phenotypes including the main AD traits of neuropathology and memory loss. It is knowm that, in the brain, any small change might induce disturbances that will lead to emotional imbalances, cognitive impairment, and neurodegeneration. On the other hand, the aging process, both in physiological and pathological conditions, as occurs in AD, can be driven by epigenetic forces. Therefore, differences among SAM strains may be explained on the basis of epigenetics, specifically in alterations that give rise to changes in chromatin status. This constitutes an additional pathway in this strain that might reveal new targets against harmful aging processes.