Rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR kinase, increased median lifespan of genetically heterogeneous mice by 23% (males) to 26% (females) when tested at a dose threefold higher than that used in our previous studies; maximal longevity was also increased in both sexes. Rapamycin increased lifespan more in females than in males at each dose evaluated, perhaps reflecting sexual dimorphism in blood levels of this drug. Some of the endocrine and metabolic changes seen in diet-restricted mice are not seen in mice exposed to rapamycin, and the pattern of expression of hepatic genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism is also quite distinct in rapamycin-treated and diet-restricted mice, suggesting that these two interventions for extending mouse lifespan differ in many respects.

Long-term functional capacities of marrow cell lines were defined by competitive repopulation, a technique capable of detecting a small decline in repopulating abilities. There was little or no difference between cells from old and young donors, but a single serial transplantation caused a large decline in repopulating ability. Varying the numbers of marrow cells transplanted into the initial carrier from 10(5) to 10(7) did not alter the ability of the carrier's marrow cells to repopulate in competition with previously untransplanted cells. This ability was improved only in carriers that had received 10(8) marrow cells, although deleterious effects of transplantation were still present. These effects were not solely caused by cell damage from the transplantation procedure, because transplantation by parabiosis, or recovery from sublethal irradiation without transplantation, reduced repopulating abilities as much as transplanting 10(5) to 10(7) marrow cells. The transplantation effect also was not caused solely by irradiation, because the same effect appeared in unirradiated W/Wv carriers. The transplantation effect was more pronounced when donors were identified by hemoglobin type than by chromosome markers, implying that nonerythroid cell lines may be less affected by transplantation than erythroid precursor cells. When the effects of a lifetime of normal function and a single transplantation were compared, the latter caused 3-7 times more decline in repopulating abilities of phytohemagglutinin-responsive cell precursors, and at least 10-20 times more decline in erythroid cell precursors. Stem cell lines can be serially transplanted at least five times before losing their ability to repopulate and save lethally irradiated recipients or to cure genetically anemic mice. Therefore, if transplantation causes an acceleration of the normal aging process, these figures suggest that stem cells should be able to function normally through at least 15-50 life spans.

The National Institute on Aging Interventions Testing Program (ITP) was established to evaluate agents that are hypothesized to increase life span and/or health span in genetically heterogeneous mice. Each compound is tested in parallel at three test sites. It is the goal of the ITP to publish all results, negative or positive. We report here on the results of lifelong treatment of mice, beginning at 4 months of age, with each of five agents, that is, green tea extract (GTE), curcumin, oxaloacetic acid, medium-chain triglyceride oil, and resveratrol, on the life span of genetically heterogeneous mice. Each agent was administered beginning at 4 months of age. None of these five agents had a statistically significant effect on life span of male or female mice, by log-rank test, at the concentrations tested, although a secondary analysis suggested that GTE might diminish the risk of midlife deaths in females only.

No abstract

No abstract

We previously reported that mouse strains with lower circulating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) level at 6 mo have significantly extended longevity. Here we report that strains with lower IGF1 have significantly delayed age of female sexual maturation, measured by vaginal patency (VP). Among strains with normal lifespans (mean lifespan >600 d), delayed age of VP associated with greater longevity (P = 0.015), suggesting a genetically regulated tradeoff at least partly mediated by IGF1. Supporting this hypothesis, C57BL/6J females had 9% lower IGF1, 6% delayed age of VP, and 24% extended lifespan compared with C57BL/6J.C3H/HeJ-Igf1, which carries a C3H/HeJ allele on chromosome (Chr) 10 that increases IGF1. To identify genetic loci/genes that regulate female sexual maturation, including loci that mediate lifespan tradeoffs, we performed haplotype association mapping for age of VP and identified significant loci on Chrs 4 (Vpq1) and 16 (Vpq2 and 3). At each locus, wildderived strains share a unique haplotype that associates with delayed VP. Substitution of Chr 16 of C57BL/6J with Chr 16 from a wild-derived strain significantly reduced IGF1 and delayed VP. Strains with a wild-derived allele at Vpq3 have significantly extended longevity compared with strains with other alleles. Bioinformatic analysis identified Nrip1 at Vpq3 as a candidate gene. Nrip1−/− females have significantly reduced IGF1 and delayed age of VP compared with Nrip1 +/+ females. We conclude that IGF1 may coregulate female sexual maturation and longevity; wild-derived strains carry specific alleles that delay sexual maturation; and Nrip1 is involved in regulating sexual maturation and may affect longevity by regulating IGF1 level.aging | reproduction | hormone E pidemiology studies have suggested that sexual maturation is genetically regulated (1, 2). According to evolutionary theory, natural selection plays an important role in selecting alleles that regulate female sexual maturation (3-5). The evolutionary theory of aging predicts that the timing of female sexual maturation is linked to the rate of aging by pleiotropic genes that mediate a tradeoff between sexual maturation and aging (6, 7). This theory is supported by a field population study of mammalian species ranging from mouse to elephant that identified a positive correlation between age of reproduction and lifespan (8). In rodent, caloric restriction delays female maturity and slows aging (9). Also, reduced female reproduction and extended longevity were found in most models that carry mutations in genes of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) pathway (10). These studies suggest that the set of genes that regulate sexual maturation includes a subset of pleiotropic genes that mediate a lifehistory tradeoff between development and aging.Previous studies have suggested that considerable genetic variance of female reproductive development exists within Mus musculus. However, before our study, the age of sexual maturation of inbred strains had not been systematically measu...

No abstract

SummaryTransplantation has strong deleterious effects on the primitive immunohematopoietic stem cells (PSC) from which circulating lymphocytes and erythrocytes are descended . We studied these effects over 300-400 d, testing whether PSC numbers, repopulating abilities, or both, were reduced . Equivalent PSC numbers were estimated in recipients of mixtures of genetically different cells, using the binomial model with covariance. Percentages of lymphocyte and erythrocyte types were closely correlated, as were percentages of either type sampled at intervals of several months. This suggests that the same PSC produced lymphoid and myeloid cells, and that most circulating cells were descended from the same PSC over hundreds of days. Equivalent PSC concentrations were "1/105 fresh marrow cells, and were about twofold lower using previously transplanted marrow. However, such marrow repopulated only one-seventh to one-eighth as well as fresh marrow. Apparently, transplantation not only reduces PSC concentrations, but also reduces the repopulating ability per PSC . This may result from excessive stimuli to differentiate that overbalance the stimuli for PSC to replenish themselves .