Ladiges Warren, Ikeno Yuji, Liggitt Denny, Treuting Piper M
Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Pathobiol Aging Age Relat Dis. 2013 Aug 20;3. doi: 10.3402/pba.v3i0.22451. eCollection 2013.
Experimental design for mouse aging studies has historically involved lifespan, but it is now clear that survival data without pathology data limit the information that can be obtained on aging animals. This limitation becomes more serious when interventions of any sort are implemented. Pathology gives an insight into the health of an animal by revealing lesions not readily observable in the live animal. As such, it is a snapshot of disease conditions at the time of death. Therefore, a long-term goal is to establish pathology information as an essential component of studies involving health span and lifespan of aging animals. Given that pathology assessment is essential to help define the progression of lesions associated with aging, the real challenge is including it in aging studies because there is currently a lack of specialized expertise and resources. An increase in the level and scope of pathology assessment of tissues from old mice involved in aging studies is needed. A focus on the correlation of pathology data with longitudinal and cross-sectional lifespan data and health span physiology data can be established by enhancing standard histologic assessment of lesions observed in tissues from old mice. An environment for the development and integration of pathology data into aging studies of mice is needed to encourage more pathologists and other scientists to specialize in pathology of aging, and establish relevant standards to compare with other species including humans. Such results will have an important positive impact on aging studies because of the significant empowerment on data analyses and interpretation.
小鼠衰老研究的实验设计在历史上一直涉及寿命，但现在很明显，没有病理学数据的生存数据限制了从衰老动物身上获得的信息。当实施任何类型的干预措施时，这种限制会变得更加严重。病理学通过揭示活体动物中不易观察到的病变，深入了解动物的健康状况。因此，它是死亡时疾病状况的一个快照。所以，一个长期目标是将病理学信息确立为涉及衰老动物健康寿命和寿命研究的一个重要组成部分。鉴于病理学评估对于帮助确定与衰老相关的病变进展至关重要，真正的挑战在于将其纳入衰老研究，因为目前缺乏专业知识和资源。需要提高参与衰老研究的老年小鼠组织病理学评估的水平和范围。通过加强对老年小鼠组织中观察到的病变的标准组织学评估，可以建立病理学数据与纵向和横断面寿命数据以及健康寿命生理学数据之间的相关性。需要一个将病理学数据开发和整合到小鼠衰老研究中的环境，以鼓励更多病理学家和其他科学家专门研究衰老病理学，并建立与包括人类在内的其他物种进行比较的相关标准。由于对数据分析和解释有显著的促进作用，这样的结果将对衰老研究产生重要的积极影响。
