All about aging mice
The study, conducted on the basis of five laboratories at the Buck Institute for Aging Research (Buck Institute For Age Research), California, was organized to collect data necessary to create ways to slow aging and treat age-related diseases.
Within the framework of the project, which lasted several years, about 700 mice were serially profiled as they aged and simultaneously tested several drugs that in past studies increased the lifespan of simple organisms or treated neurological diseases in mice. The researchers determined the rate of change of clinically significant parameters in the observed mice, including spinal curvature, blood glucose levels, physical activity, metabolic parameters of the body and bone aging parameters. Terabytes of data have been collected and analyzed over several years. The results are available online.
This is a unique database that is the result of a study of many phenotypes of aging, including those that have never been considered before. This information will help researchers around the world to virtually simulate experiments at the preclinical stage in order to determine the starting point for testing interventions on mice.
In a study published in 2011 in the journal Nature, it was shown that benzoxazole is one of five compounds that increase the lifespan of roundworms. In a new study, scientists have proved that after a year of treatment, benzoxazole slows down bone aging in mice by 31%. That is, a drug that prolongs the life span of an organism that does not have bones has slowed down the rate of bone aging in mammals. It is obvious that the signaling pathways associated with aging have been preserved during evolution. Benzoxazole appears to inhibit age-related protein aggregation in roundworms. The mechanism of action on the bone tissue of mice is still being studied, although researchers believe that this compound slows down the reabsorption of osteoclasts – cells that are active during the growth and regeneration of bone tissue.
The results of this study are applicable to humans, especially with respect to preclinical phenotypes. All the evaluated metrics have direct clinical analogues – parameters that can be determined in humans. For example, researchers first witnessed spontaneous femoral fractures in aging mice – they occurred in 2.5% of animals, which is comparable to 1-2.7% of cases of hip fractures in people over 65 years old. The authors also developed a new method for assessing kyphosis, an aging–related curvature of the spine.
Computer model of kyphosis. Green – young mice, red – old.
The new database will significantly save the resources of researchers who plan to conduct preclinical studies of interventions. So, if you need to test a drug on a model with a certain aging phenotype, this database can provide information about how many mice are needed for experiments and how long it will probably take to get results.
Article by D.S.Evans et al. Longitudinal Functional Study of Murine Aging: A Resource for Future Study Designs is published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research Plus.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Buck: A compound that slows bone loss, and a resource for developing treatments to slow aging.