# Long-lived mice and species as test beds for drug and pathway discovery

> **NIH NIH U19** · CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MED CTR RES INSTITUTE · 2022 · $1,186,578

## Abstract

The experimental plans focus on two central themes: (a) that comparison of properties of cell lines from long-
and short-lived species can suggest hypotheses about pathways that modulate the pace of aging, and (b) that
availability of multiple mouse models for delayed aging can test ideas about factors that are indicative of, and
in some cases causally connected to, the biology of aging and late-life disease. Aim 1 will evaluate
metabolomic and peptide signatures ("analytes") from cell lines of rodents, birds, and primates varying in
lifespan from 4 to 70 years, to see which analyte signatures are shared among evolutionary clades and are
thus likely to be required for evolution of longevity. Aim 2 will develop analyte signatures from plasma and
internal tissues of six varieties of slow-aging mice (three drugs, one diet, and two mutations). We predict we
will find overlapping signatures in these long-lived mice, suggesting "common pathways" associated with
healthy longevity regardless of the mode of lifespan extension. We predict that some of these biomarkers will
also be seen in plasma from exceptionally healthy, long-lived people. We also predict that analytes and
signatures found in the cross-species comparisons of Aim 1 will be detectable in slow-aging mice as well. Aim
3 focuses on a collaboration with the Cheminformatics Core, to test sets of drugs in cell lines and in mice. The
hypothesis is that the Core-nominated drugs will render mouse and human cells resistant to multiple stresses,
and will modify analyte profiles in mice to resemble those of slow-aging mice and long-lived humans.
Endpoints for the drug treatment protocols, in cells and mice, will also include those we have previously shown
to be characteristic of cells from long-lived species and organs of long-lived mice, including PSMB8, IFN R2-
responsive mRNAs, and mitochondrial TXNRD2. We will make extensive use of collaborations with the
Consortium's projects on metabolomics and proteomics, and the Cheminformatics Core, and our data will be a
rich source of information for the Schork project and the systems biology core as well. We hope to show that
analyses of species-specific cellular traits, and materials from slow-aging mice, can greatly enrich the search
for pathways, genes, and drugs of special interest for protection of people from the effects of aging and age-
dependent diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10448348
- **Project number:** 5U19AG023122-15
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MED CTR RES INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** RICHARD A MILLER
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,186,578
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2004-09-30 → 2024-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10448348

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10448348, Long-lived mice and species as test beds for drug and pathway discovery (5U19AG023122-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10448348. Licensed CC0.

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