Dogs as a Model of Human Aging

Dogs are an interesting species when it comes to the study of aging. Firstly they are much closer to human metabolism and cellular biochemistry than mice, and secondly selective breeding has generated lineages with a very wide range of sizes and life spans. Thirdly, they occupy a good compromise position in the range of life spans, study cost, and similarity to humans. Mice live short lives, so studies are rapid and comparatively cheap, but there are sizable, important differences between mouse and human biochemistry. Humans live so long that most studies of aging are simply out of the question. Even in non-human primates that live half or less as long as we do, a study of aging and calorie restriction has lasted for decades, and few organizations can or will commit to that sort of effort. Interest has picked up in recent years in the dog as a model of aging, to be used in the development of therapies to slow or reverse progression of aging. This is illustrated by the activities of the Dog Aging Project, for example, which seeks to obtain data on mTOR inhibitor therapies via their use in companion animals. Given this increased interest, researchers have started to catalog the holes in present knowledge. Even though dogs are very well studied, there is plenty to room to improve the understanding of how the mechanisms of aging progress and are influenced by genetics in this species. Genetic Pathways of Aging and Their Relevance in the Dog as a Natural Model of Hum...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs