- AGING ANIMAL MODELS AND LONGEVITY ASSESSMENT CORE The Aging Animal Models and Longevity Assessment Core (Animal Core) will continue a nearly 20-year history of leadership and innovation in 1) developing and providing new and established aging animal models, 2) administering nutritional and pharmacological interventions, and 3) collecting lifespan and life-history data for investigators in San Antonio and across the nation. It is housed in facilities specifically designed for and exclusive to aging animals and provides exceptional continuity of care and data collection by highly trained staff. Its underlying premise is that animal models aged under conditions that enable maximal longevity and optimal health is the foundation of meaningful aging research. An innovative and unique addition is the offering of two species of exceptional biogerontological interest [EBI]: the naked mole-rat and the marmoset. EBI species provide opportunities to discover mechanisms of exceptional longevity and test interventions in a non-human primate with the ultimate objective of promoting healthy aging in humans. The Animal Core has enabled seminal findings in Geroscience over the last 5 years including a) reassessment of the role of oxidative stress in aging, b) discoveries challenging the paradigm that dietary restriction universally extends lifespan and c) discoveries that rapamycin, acarbose and other drugs extend life and healthspan. These and other advances enabled by this Core underscore its importance as a generator of biogerontologic discovery.
The Specific Aims of the Core are to continue enabling biogerontologic discovery by: 1. Breeding, maintaining and aging new and established mouse models to study the mechanisms of aging and/or age-related disease. 2. Providing aging naked mole-rats and marmosets, two models of exceptional biogerontological interest (EBI) for discovering mechanisms of longevity and healthy aging. 3. Conducting lifespan studies of genetically, nutritionally, and pharmacologically manipulated mice to test hypotheses and discover mechanisms of aging and identify potential therapies. 4. Providing diets containing rapamycin and other drugs of biogerontological interest. 5. Educating, training and advising faculty, fellows, and students interested in aging research on experimental design with respect to the special husbandry requirements of aging laboratory rodents, naked mole-rats and the marmoset in aging research. The major objective of the SA Shock Center is to facilitate the study of models in which aging is delayed in order to identify underlying mechanisms and therapeutic targets. The Animal Core plays a critical role in this objective. Its facilities, staff and organization enable seamless integration with data collection from Pathology and Healthspan Cores, as well as interaction with the Pharmacology Core when needed. The proposed Animal Core is thus poised, in concert with the other Cores, to continue enabling biogerontological discovery.
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