1 research outputs found
Lifespan extension in female mice by early, transient exposure to adult female olfactory cues
Several previous lines of research have suggested, indirectly, that mouse lifespan is
particularly susceptible to endocrine or nutritional signals in the first few weeks of life, as tested by
manipulations of litter size, growth hormone levels, or mutations with effects specifically on early-life
growth rate. The pace of early development in mice can also be influenced by exposure of nursing
and weanling mice to olfactory cues. In particular, odors of same-sex adult mice can in some circumstances delay maturation. We hypothesized that olfactory information might also have a sex-specific
effect on lifespan, and we show here that the lifespan of female mice can be increased significantly
by odors from adult females administered transiently, that is from 3 days until 60 days of age.
Female lifespan was not modified by male odors, nor was male lifespan susceptible to odors from
adults of either sex. Conditional deletion of the G protein Gαo in the olfactory system, which leads
to impaired accessory olfactory system function and blunted reproductive priming responses to male
odors in females, did not modify the effect of female odors on female lifespan. Our data provide
support for the idea that very young mice are susceptible to influences that can have long-lasting
effects on health maintenance in later life, and provide a potential example of lifespan extension by
olfactory cues in mice