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Dog owners often treat them domestic animal Like miniature humans – and now scientists are studying dogs in the same way to find out more about their mystery Ageing In people.
They are suspected to have clues to the different rates of both dogs And the age of man may lie in the kidneys and intestines.
In 2020, researchers at the Dog Aging Project in the United States began enrolling dogs in a long-term study of aging, resulting in approximately 50,000 dogs volunteered by their owners.
The project was designed to identify patterns of aging and how they are shaped by genetic and environmental variations.
Pets were considered ideal models for research because they have similar genetic diversity, diseases, and habitats to humans. “Dogs vary greatly not only in size, shape and behavior, but also in their aging patterns,” a new study Called by project.
The researchers said the dogs’ relatively short lifespan gives them a chance to see how their discoveries will impact both canine and human health over their lifetimes.
After analyzing blood samples from nearly 800 dogs, they found that about 40 percent of the small molecules in dogs’ blood changed with age.
“These molecules, known as metabolites, are basically the building blocks of life,” said scientist Daniel Promislow, co-director of the Dog Aging Project and senior author of the study, published in the journal aging cell,
“They serve as raw materials for the manufacture of proteins, DNA and other cellular components, and play a vital role in keeping cells alive.”
The researchers found that one type of metabolite, called a post-translationally modified amino acid (PTMAA), appeared to be strongly linked to aging in dogs of all breeds, sizes, and sexes.
Bacteria in the intestine can make amino acids when food is digested.
As dogs and humans age, the kidneys become less effective, and the study authors found that as kidney function declines, amino acids build up, potentially explaining why some dogs age more healthily than others — and providing clues for humans as well.
The researchers plan to follow changes in metabolites in the same dogs over several years and try to identify gut microbes that may change in abundance with age.
They also wanted to look at owners’ information to see if muscle changes – a common phenomenon in both aging dogs and people – are linked to amino acids.