Supplementation with the short-chain fatty acid acetate for improving age-associated arterial dysfunction in mice

Our overall purpose is to investigate the efficacy of acetate supplementation for treating age-related arterial dysfunction in mice. We are secondarily interested in the relative efficacy of acetate supplementation compared to consumption of a high-fiber diet. We are interested in determining gut microbiome composition (fecal samples), as acetate supplementation has been shown to increase abundance of acetate-producing bacteria, and high-fiber diets increase abundance of overall SCFA-producing bacteria.本研究的首要目标为探究乙酸盐（acetate）补充剂对小鼠年龄相关性动脉功能障碍的治疗效果。次要研究目标为对比乙酸盐补充剂与高纤维饮食的相对治疗效果。此外，本研究计划通过粪便样本（fecal samples）分析肠道微生物组（gut microbiome）组成，其依据为：已有研究证实乙酸盐补充剂可提升产乙酸菌（acetate-producing bacteria）的丰度，而高纤维饮食可提高整体产短链脂肪酸（Short-Chain Fatty Acid, SCFA）菌的丰度。