Effect of long-term caloric restriction on oxygen consumption and body temperature in two different strains of mice

Melissa Ferguson, Barbara H. Sohal, Michael J. Forster, Rajindar S. Sohal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

The hypothesis, that a decrease in metabolic rate mediates the life span prolonging effect of caloric restriction (CR), was tested using two strains of mice, one of which, C57BL/6, exhibits life span extension as a result of CR, while the other, DBA/2, shows little or no effect. Comparisons of the rate of resting oxygen consumption and body temperature were made between the strains after they were fed ad libitum (AL) or maintained under 40% CR, from 4 to 16 months of age. Ad libitum-fed mice of the two strains weighed the same when young and consumed similar amounts of food throughout the experiment; however, the C57BL/6 mice weighed 25% more than DBA/2 mice at 15 months of age. The rate of oxygen consumption was normalized as per gram body weight, lean body mass or organ weight as well as per animal. The body temperature and the rate of oxygen consumption, expressed according to all of the four criteria, were decreased in the DBA/2 mice following CR. The C57BL/6 mice also showed a CR-related decrease in body temperature and in the rate of oxygen consumption per animal and when normalized according to lean body mass or organ weight. The results of this study indicate that CR indeed lowers the rate of metabolism; however, this effect by CR does not necessarily entail the prolongation of the life span of mice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)539-545
Number of pages7
JournalMechanisms of Ageing and Development
Volume128
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2007

Keywords

  • Aging
  • C57BL/6
  • Caloric restriction
  • DBA/2
  • Energy balance
  • Inbred mice
  • Life span
  • Metabolic rate
  • Obesity

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