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Effect of Epitalon on biomarkers of aging, life span and spontaneous tumor incidence in female Swiss-derived SHR mice

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Abstract

From the age of 3 months until their natural deaths, female outbred Swiss-derived SHR mice were subcutaneously injected on 5 consecutive days every month with 0.1 ml of normal saline (control) or with 1.0 µg/mouse (∼30–40 µg/kg) of tetrapeptide Epitalon®(Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) dissolved in 0.1 ml saline. There were 54 mice in each group. The results of this study show that treatment with Epitalon did not influence food consumption, body weight or mean life span of mice. However, it slowed down the age-related switching-off of estrous function and decreased the frequency of chromosome aberrations in bone marrow cells (by 17.1%, P < 0.05). It also increased by 13.3% the life span of the last 10% of the survivors (P < 0.01) and by 12.3% the maximum life span in comparison with the control group. We also found that treatment with Epitalon did not influence total spontaneous tumor incidence, but inhibited the development of leukemia (6.0-fold), as compared with the control group. The data obtained suggest a geroprotector activity of Epitalon and the safety of its long-term administration in mice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Carcinogenesis and Oncogerontology, N.N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology, Pesochny-2, St. Petersburg, 197758, Russia

    Vladimir N. Anisimov, Irina G. Popovich, Mark A. Zabezhinski, Irina N. Alimova & Natalia Yu. Zavarzina

  2. St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, 3, pr. Dynamo, 197110, Russia

    Vladimir Kh. Khavinson

  3. I.P. Pavlov State Medical University, Lev Tolstoy Str., 6/8, St. Petersburg, 197022, Russia

    Svetlana V. Rosenfeld

  4. Max-Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Doberaner Str., 114, Rostock, 18057, Germany

    Anna V. Semenchenko & Anatoli I. Yashin

Authors
  1. Vladimir N. Anisimov
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  2. Vladimir Kh. Khavinson
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  3. Irina G. Popovich
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  4. Mark A. Zabezhinski
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  5. Irina N. Alimova
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  6. Svetlana V. Rosenfeld
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  7. Natalia Yu. Zavarzina
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  8. Anna V. Semenchenko
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  9. Anatoli I. Yashin
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Correspondence to Vladimir N. Anisimov.

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Anisimov, V.N., Khavinson, V.K., Popovich, I.G. et al. Effect of Epitalon on biomarkers of aging, life span and spontaneous tumor incidence in female Swiss-derived SHR mice. Biogerontology 4, 193–202 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025114230714

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