Age-related gene expression signature in limb skeletal muscles and the diaphragm in mice and rats [mouse]

As a result of aging, skeletal muscle undergoes atrophy and a decrease in function. This age-related skeletal muscle weakness is known as "sarcopenia." To understand the changes in gene expression that occur as a result of age in skeletal muscles, we generated a multi-time point gene expression signature throughout the lifespan of mice and rats, as these are the most commonly used species in preclinical research and intervention testing Gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior, soleus, and diaphragm muscles from male and female C57Bl/6J mice and male Sprague Dawley rats were analyzed at ages 6, 12, 18, 21, 24 and 27 months, plus an additional 9 month group was used for rats随着机体衰老，骨骼肌会出现萎缩与功能减退，这种与年龄相关的骨骼肌无力病症被称为“肌少症（sarcopenia）”。为阐明骨骼肌中随年龄进程发生的基因表达变化规律，我们构建了小鼠与大鼠整个生命周期内多时间点的基因表达特征谱数据集——这两类物种是临床前研究与干预测试中最为常用的实验动物模型。本研究分析了雄性和雌性C57Bl/6J小鼠的腓肠肌（Gastrocnemius）、胫骨前肌（tibialis anterior）、比目鱼肌（soleus）及膈肌（diaphragm），同时对雄性Sprague Dawley大鼠的上述肌肉组织进行了检测；样本采集的年龄节点涵盖6、12、18、21、24和27月龄，此外大鼠还额外增设了9月龄实验组。