Differential effects of western versus mediterranean diets and psychosocial stress on ovarian function in female monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

Ovarian dysfunction increases risk for chronic diseases of aging including cardiovascular disease, depression, cognitive impairment, as well as bone and muscle loss which promote frailty. Psychosocial stress can disrupt ovarian function, and recent observations suggest that consumption of a Western Diet may also. Determination of causal relationships among diet, psychosocial stress, and ovarian physiology is difficult in humans.

Isoform-specific dysregulation of AMP-activated protein kinase signaling in a non-human primate model of Alzheimer's disease.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a molecular sensor that is critical for the maintenance of cellular energy homeostasis, disruption of which has been indicated in multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mammalian AMPK is a heterotrimeric complex and its enzymatic α subunit exists in two isoforms: AMPKα1 and AMPKα2. Here we took advantage of a recently characterized non-human primate (NHP) model with sporadic AD-like neuropathology to explore potential relationships between AMPK signaling and AD-like neuropathology.

Mediterranean diet, stress resilience, and aging in nonhuman primates.

Persistent psychological stress increases the risk of many chronic diseases of aging. Little progress has been made to effectively reduce stress responses or mitigate stress effects suggesting a need for better understanding of factors that influence stress responses. Limited evidence suggests that diet may be a factor in modifying the effects of stress.

Diet, psychosocial stress, and Alzheimer's disease-related neuroanatomy in female nonhuman primates.

Introduction: Associations between diet, psychosocial stress, and neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), have been reported, but causal relationships are difficult to determine in human studies.

Methods: We used structural magnetic resonance imaging in a well-validated non-human primate model of AD-like neuropathology to examine the longitudinal effects of diet (Mediterranean vs Western) and social subordination stress on brain anatomy, including global volumes, cortical thicknesses and volumes, and 20 individual regions of interest (ROIs).

Results: Western diet resulted in greater cortical thicknesses, total brain volumes, and gray matter, and diminished cerebrospinal fluid and white matter volumes.

Advanced maternal age impacts physiologic adaptations to pregnancy in vervet monkeys.

The trend to delay pregnancy in the USA has resulted in the number of advanced maternal age (AMA) pregnancies to also increase. In humans, AMA is associated with a variety of pregnancy-related pathologies such as preeclampsia (PE). While AMA is known to be a factor which contributes to the development of pregnancy-induced diseases, the molecular and cellular mechanisms giving rise to this phenomenon are still very limited.

Whole Body Irradiation Induces Diabetes and Adipose Insulin Resistance in Nonhuman Primates.

Purpose: Diabetes mellitus is a delayed effect of radiation exposure in human and nonhuman primates. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by peripheral tissue insulin resistance, and as a result, irradiation exposure may cause important changes in insulin-sensitive tissues such as muscle and adipose.

Methods And Materials: We prospectively investigated changes in response to irradiation (4 Gy whole body exposure) in 16 male rhesus macaques.

Mediterranean versus Western Diet Effects on Caloric Intake, Obesity, Metabolism, and Hepatosteatosis in Nonhuman Primates.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of humanlike Western and Mediterranean diets on caloric intake, obesity, metabolism, and hepatosteatosis in an established nonhuman primate model of obesity, cardiometabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis.

Methods: A 38-month, randomized, preclinical, nonhuman primate primary prevention trial of 38 socially housed, middle-aged adult females was conducted. The monkeys were characterized during a 7-month baseline phase while consuming chow and then randomized to either Western or Mediterranean diets; the groups were balanced on baseline characteristics.

Consumption of Mediterranean versus Western Diet Leads to Distinct Mammary Gland Microbiome Populations.

Recent identification of a mammary gland-specific microbiome led to studies investigating bacteria populations in breast cancer. Malignant breast tumors have lower Lactobacillus abundance compared with benign lesions, implicating Lactobacillus as a negative regulator of breast cancer. Diet is a main determinant of gut microbial diversity.

Relationships of depressive behavior and sertraline treatment with walking speed and activity in older female nonhuman primates.

Depression is the most common mental health problem in aging persons and is a leading risk factor for physical disability, especially in women. Though antidepressant drugs such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) are commonly prescribed, epidemiological evidence reveals mixed effects of long-term antidepressant use on physical function and activity, possibly depending on depressive status. The purpose of this preclinical trial was to determine the relationships of depressive behavior and the potential for an SSRI treatment to modulate walking speed and activity patterns in older adult female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

Microbial translocation and skeletal muscle in young and old vervet monkeys.

Intestinal barrier dysfunction leads to microbial translocation (MT) and inflammation in vertebrate and invertebrate animal models. Age is recently recognized as a factor leading to MT, and in some human and animal model studies, MT was associated with physical function. We evaluated sarcopenia, inflammation, MT biomarkers, and muscle insulin sensitivity in healthy female vervet monkeys (6-27 years old).

Long term sertraline effects on neural structures in depressed and nondepressed adult female nonhuman primates.

Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely prescribed for mood and other disorders. However, their neural effects are difficult to study due to patient compliance and drug history variability, and rarely studied in those prescribed SSRIs for non-mood disorders. Here we evaluated SSRI effects on neural volumetrics in depressed and nondepressed monkeys.