The integration of cellular stress response, immune function and aging in long- and short-lived ecotypes of garter snake

衰老是随着年龄的增长，生理过程的可预测和持续的崩溃。 在人类中，这以许多变化为标志，例如：肌肉萎缩、中心性肥胖、代谢减慢、骨量丢失、神经功能下降、老年癌症风险增加、传染病风险增加等。在小鼠、大鼠、非人类灵长类动物上的研究）已经表明，个体衰老（随着年龄的增长而恶化）的速度不同，并且这种个体差异的大部分是由于个体之间细胞应激反应和免疫功能的差异。此外，某些人类群体已经被鉴定出对衰老具有很强的抵抗力，并且潜在的基因-当被鉴定时，通常涉及应激反应和免疫功能。 在这个项目中，研究人员将在一组高度抗衰老的生物（爬行动物）中进行实验。 研究的重点是已经进化出不同寿命的束带蛇的自然种群。 他们将产生一个研究衰老的新模型，并在此过程中揭示暴露于自然灾害的人口系统中个体恶化与整体有机体健康之间的联系机制。具体来说，他们将回答的问题，免疫和细胞应激反应系统如何调节衰老的生活史框架，无论是作为独立的系统和协同相互作用的系统。此外，他们将培训高中教师，高中生，本科生和研究生在各种生理测定来衡量衰老，并扩大他们接触衰老的生物学。这项研究将增加科学知识，阐明包括人类在内的脊椎动物衰老率的生理机制。

Aging is the predictable and persistent breakdown of physiological processes with advancing age. In humans, this is marked by many changes such as: muscle atrophy, central obesity, slowed metabolism, loss of bone mass, decreasing neurological function, increasing risks of geriatric cancers, increased risk of infectious disease, etc. Many laboratory studies (e.g., on mice, rats, non-human primates) have shown that individuals vary in how quickly they senesce (deteriorate with advancing age) and that much of this individual variation is due to differences among individuals in cellular stress responses and immune function. Moreover, certain populations of humans have been identified that are very resistant to senescence, and the underlying genes - when identified, are often involved in stress response and immune function. In this project, the investigators will conduct experiments in a group of organisms that are highly resistant to senescence (reptiles). The focus is on natural populations of garter snakes that have evolved different lifespans. They will generate a new model to study aging, and in doing so uncover the mechanisms that link individual deterioration to overall organismal health in a system of populations exposed to natural hazards. Specifically, they will answer the question of how the immune and cellular stress response systems modulate senescence in a life-history framework, both as independent systems and as synergistic interacting systems. In addition, they will train high school teachers, high school students, undergraduates, and post-graduates in a variety of physiological assays to measure aging, and expand their exposure to the biology of aging. This research will add to the body of scientific knowledge to elucidate the physiological mechanisms that underlie aging rates in vertebrates, including humans.