Allostatic load in rat model: An efficient tool for evaluating and understanding aging.

Aim: Aging and age-related diseases are an ever-increasing social and public health problem. Allostatic load (AL) shows great potential as an interdisciplinary tool for assessing the aging of human beings but as yet lacks investigation in animal models which is our study focus at.

Methods: Here a continuous study of AL was conducted on naturally aging rats. Blood samples were collected from the rats at ages of 5, 8, 14, 18, and 21 months. Dozens of blood biochemical indicators, including serum corticosterone, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, free fatty acid, CD3 T cell count, CD4/CD3 T cell ratio, CD8/CD3 T cell ratio, and CD3/4/8 T cell apoptosis, were determined.

Results: AL was scored from those indicators, and we found that AL score gradually increased with age.

Conclusions: AL can reliably reveal the cumulative and systemic changes in aging. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 1077-1084.