Project description:Expression of many genes change as a function of age, but the specific genes and extent of expression changes differs between different conditions. In this work we perform whole genome sequencing on RNA extracted from the kindeys of male and female wildtype mice at 4 and 24-26 months of age to assess changes in gene expression and alterations in pathways related to aging.
Project description:We performed CUT&RUN and assessed cumulative TF binding signal shifts between age-opening and closing regions in young (2 months) and aged (20-24 months) murine samples.
Project description:The objective of this study was to determine which pathways are significantly regulated with age in sciatic and radial nerves, individually or considering the interaction term. We find a strong signature of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway being downregulated with age in both nerves, however, this effect is significantly milder in the radial nerve. We collected both radial and sciatic nerves from 8 adult (8 months old) and 8 old (24 months old) rats.
Project description:Breast cancer is an age-related cancer in women with two peaks, one at 50 and one at 70 years of age. Here we used two conditional genetically engineered mouse models of breast cancer risk to study mammary gland transcriptional changes that occur as female mice age from 12 to 30 months of age, paralleling aging from 58 to 85 years of age in women. The two models express either mammary epithelial cell-targeted Estrogen Receptor (ER) alpha (Esr1) or Aromatase (CYP19A1A) over-expression beginning at age 12 or 18 months of age. Both of these risk factors increase estrogen pathway signaling, either directly though the receptor or by increasing local estrogen production. The goals of the study are to determine how quickly significant transcriptional changes occur in the mammary gland following transgene induction, to determine how the transcriptome becomes modified as the mice age past reproductive senescence through old and very old life stages, and to identify similarities and differences in the transcriptomes between the two risk conditions at different ages and conditions. The first specific objective of this transcriptome-based study is to identify significantly differentially expressed genes within each model between different ages and times of transgene induction. This includes transcriptional changes induced by 1 week, 6, 12 and 18 months of transgene expression with transgene expression initiated at age 12 months as well as transcriptional changes induced by 1 week and 6 months of transgene expression initiated at age 18 months. The second specific objective is to compare the two models at different ages (12, 18, 24 and 30 months of age) and different transgene induction times (6, 12 and 18 months) to identify differentially expressed genes between the models. Comparative control mice from each model include age 18- and 24-month-old mice without transgene induction.