Transcriptome Profiling of Heart Ageing Reveals Distinct Pathological Gene Network

Age-related changes in cardiac homeostasis lead to myocardial dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases, which predict the healthspan of ageing. Age is a prominent risk factor for cardiac-related diseases. During ageing, the heart undergoes structural remodeling (increased cardiac weight and myocardial fibrosis) and functional decline (reduced diastolic and systolic functions), causing vulnerability of the heart to extra stress. Consequently, these pathological changes lead to increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in elderly adults. The underlying mechanism of cardiac ageing remains largely unexplored; and no pharmacological agent is currently available to improve or delay cardiac senescence. Male mice of ages 2-months and 22-months old were raised in a stable environment (room temperature, 24 ± 3 °C; room humidity, 55 ± 5%) with a 12-h light/12-h dark cycle, and were fed normal chow. The mice were anaesthetized with inhalational anaesthetic and euthanized by cervical dislocation. Hearts were immediately dissected and stored at -80°C. Three independent biological replicate samples from Young or Old group were used for RNA extraction. RNA-seq was completed by Novogene. Please note that raw data has been lost and thus is not provided.