Small-animal blood exchange is an emerging approach for systemic aging research.

ABSTRACT: We describe a small-animal blood exchange approach developed for aging research as an alternative to heterochronic parabiosis or plasma injections. In parabiosis, animals are surgically coupled, which has several disadvantages, including difficulty controlling experimental procedure, the effects of shared organs, environmental enrichment from jointly exploring the housing enclosure, involuntary exercise and an imprecise onset of blood sharing. Likewise, in plasma injections, the added volumes need to be small, and there is little flexibility in changing the relative contributions of ectopic to endogenous blood components. These factors complicate the conclusions and interpretations, including the identification of key mechanisms and molecular or cellular determinants. Our approach, where b

SUBMITTER: Mehdipour M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10035053 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature