Grant: Catalyst Grant: Pilot Projects in Aging

The LOU/C/Jall(Lou) strain has been described as a model of healthy aging. These rats are characterized by a long life expectancy, in the absence of severe pathologies, and a lifetime low fat mass. However, much remains to be accomplished to fully characterize aging Lou rats of both sex, as female Lou rats are aging more successfully than males and no data exist on old-old Lou rats (>/=39 months). Data are lacking on basal metabolic rate, body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, basal physical activity, eating behaviour, body composition, muscle strength, locomotor and exploratory behavior, cognitive performances and anxiety status. The Quebec Network for Research on Aging maintains colonies of aging rats as a research infrastructure and one of the models is the Lou rat. Unique cellular and molecular characteristics in the Lou rats could lead to lower reactive oxygen species production and participate in the maintenance of a healthy aging phenotype, including neuroendocrine, metabolic and cognitive functionality as well as muscle quality throughout the major part of their lifespan. Strong links have been established between oxidative damage and human age-related pathologies. The first objective of this project is therefore to undertake a characterization of young, mature, old and old-old male and female Lou rats in comparison to young, mature and old male and female Wistar rats, on the paradigms described above and on circulating levels of common metabolic, endocrine and inflammation markers that change in the course of aging. The second objective is to correlate all the above measures with serum and tissue levels of total antioxidant status and tissue levels of DNA damage. This study will provide essential basic information to help scientists interested in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of successful aging to develop original research project.