# Geroscience approaches to mitigate tauopathy in aged mouse brain

> **NIH NIH R01** · MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $589,482

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease increases dramatically as a function of age. With the average
life expectancy increasing due to improved medical care overall and the large group of Americans born in
the decade following World War 2 reaching the age of risk, the number of Alzheimer patients is expected to
climb rapidly. It is therefore critical to understand why and how the aged brain is more susceptible to
debilitating Alzheimer pathogenesis. However, it is challenging to study aging processes in current
transgenic mouse models because pathology cannot be initiated at later ages. In this project, we will use a
new model where tau expression, deposition and aggregation (tauopathy) are produced in mice at different
stages of the lifespan. We will use calorie restriction and rapamycin treatment, two methods known to
extend lifespan and slow the rate of biological aging, to determine whether these treatments delay the
phenotype of tauopathy, neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment observed in this model. We will
determine where and when cellular senescence occurs in brain and which cell types succumb to
senescence. We will use three methods to assess the presence of senescent cells (histology, cell isolation
technology and laser capture microdissection) to enhance the rigor of these findings. Human Alzheimer
and control postmortem brain samples will be used to verify relevance to the human condition. Finally, we
will determine whether the tauopathy phenotype can be mitigated by depletion of senescent cells. Taken
together, these experiments will provide support for new methods of minimizing Alzheimer pathogenesis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10170199
- **Project number:** 5R01AG062217-04
- **Recipient organization:** MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** MARCIA N GORDON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $589,482
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10170199

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10170199, Geroscience approaches to mitigate tauopathy in aged mouse brain (5R01AG062217-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10170199. Licensed CC0.

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