The latest research progress and application prospects of aging animal models
10.3969/j.issn.1005-4847.2025.10.012
- VernacularTitle:衰老动物模型的最新研究进展及应用前景
- Author:
Zhigang FAN
1
;
Jiamei XIE
;
Xiaojuan HAN
Author Information
1. 宜宾市第三中医医院,康复科,四川宜宾 644600
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
aging;
animal model;
gene editing;
interdisciplinary intersection
- From:
Acta Laboratorium Animalis Scientia Sinica
2025;33(10):1513-1521
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Aging is an inevitable biological process in organisms,accompanied by the decline of multiple physiological functions and increased risk of diseases.With the intensification of global aging,the research associated with mechanisms and the development of anti-aging drugs have become critical topics in the biomedical field.Aging animal models are pivotal tools for investigating aging mechanisms and developing anti-aging interventions.Model organisms commonly used in aging research include nematodes(Caenorhabditis elegans),fruit flies(Drosophila melanogaster),mice(Mus musculus),rats(Rattus norvegicus),naked-mole-rats(e.g.,Heterocephalus glaber),and rhesus macaques(Macaca mulatta).Considering experimental costs and time constraints,mice represent the most extensively employed mammalian model.Under standard housing conditions,mice develop aging phenotypes at approximately 18 months of age,Resultsing in lengthy and costly experimental timelines.To accelerate research,scientists have established diverse progeroid mouse models through genetic,pharmacological,and environmental interventions.Given the tissue-specific heterogeneity of aging,distinct progeria models are required to investigate aging mechanisms across different organ systems.Notably,each model exhibits unique advantages and limitations in mimicking human aging phenotypes,screening therapeutic targets,and evaluating anti-aging compounds.This review comprehensively examines morphological,physiological,and pathological variations among established progeria models,delineates their context-dependent applications and inherent constraints,and provides a systematic framework for model selection in fundamental aging research and translational geroscience,with perspectives on future method ological developments.
