TRANSLATIONAL BIOMARKERS FOR AGING AND FRAILTY: IMPORTANT SEX DIFFERENCES
2024

Sex Differences in Frailty and Health Outcomes in Mice

publication

Author Information

Author(s): Kane Alice

Primary Institution: Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, Washington, United States

Hypothesis

There are significant sex differences in frailty and its associated biomarkers in mice.

Conclusion

The study found clear sex differences in frailty scores and associated molecular outcomes in mice.

Supporting Evidence

  • Female mice have higher frailty scores than males in middle-to-late life.
  • Sex explains more variability than age or frailty in DNA methylation data.
  • Preliminary analysis identifies hundreds of sex-specific differentially methylated regions with frailty.
  • Metabolomics analysis identifies 104 metabolites associated with frailty, independent of sex and age.
  • Sex-specific metabolomic markers for frailty include creatine for females and FAD for males.
  • Microbiome data identifies microbes associated with frailty across sexes.

Takeaway

This study shows that female mice are generally more frail than male mice, and they have different biological markers related to frailty.

Methodology

The study assessed health outcomes in male and female C57BL/6 mice, collecting blood and stool samples for various analyses.

Participant Demographics

C57BL/6 mice, both male and female.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1093/geroni/igae098.1645

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