Hypoxia extends lifespan and neurological function in a mouse model of aging

We investigated the effect of chronic continuous hypoxia (11% oxygen) on lifespan and neurological function in a mouse model of accelerated aging. The mice have one knockout allele and one hypomorphic truncation allele of the Ercc1 gene, a key component of the nucleotide excision repair pathway. We performed sequencing of the full 16.6 kb mtDNA molecule from bulk forebrain of Ercc1 mutant and wild type mice that were raised under hypoxia or normoxia to assess the effect of these conditions on the integrity of the mitochondrial genome.