Abolishing the prelamin A ZMPSTE24 cleavage site leads to progeroid phenotypes with near-normal longevity in mice

Prelamin A is a farnesylated precursor of lamin A, a nuclear lamina protein. Accumulation of the farnesylated prelamin A variant progerin, with an internal deletion including its processing site, causes Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Loss of function mutations in ZMPSTE24, which encodes the prelamin A processing enzyme, lead to accumulation of full-length farnesylated prelamin A and cause related progeroid disorders. Some data suggest that prelamin A also accumulates with physiological aging. Zmpste24-/- mice die young, at ~20 weeks. Because ZMPSTE24 has functions in addition to prelamin A processing, we generated a mouse model to examine effects solely due to the presence of permanently farnesylated prelamin A. These mice have an L648R amino acid substitution in prelamin A that blocks ZMPSTE24-catalyzed processing to lamin A. The LmnaL648R/L648R mice express only prelamin and no mature protein. Notably, nearly all survive to 65-70 weeks, with approximately 40% of male and 75% of female LmnaL648R/L648R mice having near-normal lifespans of 90 weeks (almost 2 years). Starting at ~10 weeks of age, LmnaL648R/L648R mice of both sexes have lower body masses and body fat than controls. By ~20-30 weeks of age, they exhibit detectable cranial, mandibular and dental defects similar to those observed in Zmpste24-/- mice, and have decreased vertebral bone density compared to age- and sex-matched controls. Cultured embryonic fibroblasts from LmnaL648R/L648R mice have aberrant nuclear morphology that is reversible by treatment with a protein farnesyltransferase inhibitor. These novel mice provide a robust model to study the effects of farnesylated prelamin A during physiological aging.