Tanya Jain

How is the regulation of inflammaging and immune system decline associated with differences in lifespan across veterinary animal species?

Started July 22, 2025

Abstract or project description

Background: what is inflammaging/ immune system/ metabolism and why does it matter for longevity? The immune system is responsible for defending the body against infections and diseases. As animals age, a process called immunosenescence causes the innate and adaptive immune responses to weaken. Alongside this, inflammaging, or chronic low-grade inflammation, becomes more prevalent. These immune changes are often linked to metabolic decline and increased risk of age-related diseases like arthritis, cancer and cognitive dysfunction. Understanding how these processes affect longevity is critical for improving veterinary care and extending healthy lifespan in animals.

Problem: Why is it important to compare immune aging across animals? What are the common issues with vaccines? Common age/longevity related issues? Veterinary animals experience immune aging in different ways depending on their species, size and lifespan. This affects how well they respond to infections and vaccines later in life. Older animals often have a weaker vaccine response and are more vulnerable to chronic diseases. Despite this, most vaccine protocols and treatments don’t account for immune aging. Comparing immune aging across species can reveal patterns that help improve care for aging animals.

Goal: what question will our paper try to answer? (addresses Research Question) This paper will aim to explore how immune features (especially inflammaging and immune resilience) are related to lifespan in veterinary animals. It will investigate whether better control of inflammation contributes to longer life and healthier aging.

Approach/evidence: How will we explore this question (by comparing animals and analyzing literature) - summary tables, graphs with statistics To explore these questions, we compare immune system aging in three veterinary animal species: a long-lived species (horse), a mid-lived species (dog), and a short-lived species (mouse). Research data from peer-reviewed articles is used to identify key patterns in immune decline, inflammaging and disease. Important findings are organized in a summary table to visualize trends and support conclusions about longevity and immune health.