CALORIC RESTRICTION AND AGING IN NONHUMAN PRIMATE EYES

这个子项目是许多利用 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 饮食热量限制（CR）是可靠地延长各种物种寿命的唯一干预措施，包括蠕虫，苍蝇，鱼类和啮齿动物。CR是否也可以延长人类寿命仍然未知。美国国家老龄化研究所的卡路里 限制性研究维持了非人灵长类动物的长期群体，这些群体被评估了许多健康参数和衰老标志物，并提供了解决这一问题的最佳非人灵长类动物模型。作为这一独特资源的一部分，恒河猴群体，包括30%热量限制或随意饮食的年轻和老年群体，在ONPRC维持了4.5年， 在NIA的整个生命周期中，都在跟踪大型群体。由于其无创监测的可及性，眼睛是纵向评估CR是否可以延缓衰老和年龄相关疾病发生的理想器官，因此我们正在这些猴子中进行眼睛衰老的深入研究。我们项目的两个主要目标是：1）确定CR是否延缓衰老和年龄相关性眼病（包括黄斑变性、白内障、青光眼和视神经萎缩）的发展; 2）使用年龄相关性变性和氧化应激的标志物，将临床观察与组织病理学研究相关联。这项研究可以为人类年龄相关性眼部疾病的原因和可能的治疗提供新的见解。 在过去的一年中，我们继续评估NIA CR群体中的猴子，并完成了有助于理解年龄相关性视网膜疾病所涉及的细胞过程的形态学研究。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Dietary caloric restriction (CR) is the only intervention to reliably extend the lifespan of a variety of species, including worms, flies, fishes and rodents. Whether CR can also extend the human lifespan remains unknown. The National Institutes of Aging's Caloric Restriction Study maintains long-term colonies of nonhuman primates that are evaluated for many health parameters and markers of aging and provide the best available nonhuman primate model to address this question. As part of this unique resource, groups of rhesus monkeys, including young and old groups on 30% calorically restricted or ad libitum diets, were maintained at ONPRC for 4.5 years, and large groups are being followed throughout their lifespan at NIA. Because of its accessibility to noninvasive monitoring, the eye is an ideal organ to evaluate longitudinally whether CR can retard the occurrence of aging and age-related disease, and therefore we are conducting in-depth studies of ocular aging in these monkeys. The two major goals of our project are: 1) to determine whether CR retards the development of aging and age-related ocular diseases including macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma and optic nerve atrophy; and 2) to correlate clinical observations with histopathological studies, using markers of age-related degeneration and oxidative stress. This research can provide new insights into the causes and possible treatment of human age-related ocular disorders. In the past year we continued evaluation of monkeys in the NIA CR colony, and completed morphological studies that contribute to understanding the cellular processes involved in age-related retinal disease.