Publications by authors named "K Flurkey"

Lifespan is an integrative phenotype whose genetic architecture is likely to highlight multiple processes with high impact on health and aging. Here, we conduct a genetic meta-analysis of longevity in Diversity Outbred (DO) mice that includes 2,444 animals from three independently conducted lifespan studies. We identify six loci that contribute significantly to lifespan independently of diet and drug treatment, one of which also influences lifespan in a sex-dependent manner, as well as an additional locus with a diet-specific effect on lifespan.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In genetically heterogeneous (UM-HET3) mice produced by the CByB6F1 × C3D2F1 cross, the Nrf2 activator astaxanthin (Asta) extended the median male lifespan by 12% (p = 0.003, log-rank test), while meclizine (Mec), an mTORC1 inhibitor, extended the male lifespan by 8% (p = 0.03).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rapamycin treatment has positive and negative effects on progression of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in a recombinant inbred polygenic mouse model, male NONcNZO10/LtJ (NcZ10). Here, we show that combination treatment with metformin ameliorates negative effects of rapamycin while maintaining its benefits. From 12 to 30 weeks of age, NcZ10 males were fed a control diet or diets supplemented with rapamycin, metformin, or a combination of both.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Mice genetically heterogeneous from a specific cross showed a significant increase in male lifespan by 19% when fed a non-feminizing estrogen, 17-α-estradiol (17aE2), starting at 16 months and by 11% starting at 20 months.
  • Other treatments tested, including nicotinamide riboside and three others, did not show substantial lifespan benefits for the mice.
  • The study reinforces earlier findings about 17aE2, suggesting that it may offer important insights into sex-specific aging processes since it provided notable lifespan extensions even when dosing began later in life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diets low in methionine extend lifespan of rodents, though through unknown mechanisms. Glycine can mitigate methionine toxicity, and a small prior study has suggested that supplemental glycine could extend lifespan of Fischer 344 rats. We therefore evaluated the effects of an 8% glycine diet on lifespan and pathology of genetically heterogeneous mice in the context of the Interventions Testing Program.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF