Absence of long-term effects of reproduction on longevity in the mouse model

Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology

Antonio Cano²  Miguel A García-Pérez³  Silvia García-Palomares¹  Vanessa Gómez-Piquer¹  Juan J Tarín¹ 

[1] Department of Functional Biology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Valencia, Burjassot, Valencia 46100, Spain;Service of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Dr. Peset, Valencia 46017, Spain;Research Unit-INCLIVA, Hospital Clínico de Valencia, Valencia 46010, Spain

关键词: Survival times;    Trade-offs;    Physiological costs of reproduction;    Parental investment;    Life-history traits;    Gender gap;    Fertility;   

Others  :  1149532
DOI  :  10.1186/1477-7827-12-84

 received in 2014-05-30, accepted in 2014-08-13,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Most human demographic data, particularly those on natural fertility populations, find no relationship or even a positive association between fertility and longevity. The present study aims to ascertain whether there is a trade-off between fertility and longevity in the mouse model.

Methods

The study was focused on the first litter produced by 10- to 14-wk-old hybrid (C57BL/6JIco female X CBA/JIco male) mice. A single female/male per litter was individually housed with a male/female at the age of 25 and 52 wk, respectively, until the end of reproductive life in females or natural death in males under controlled housing conditions. Post-reproductive females and virgin mice were reared until natural death. Cox regression models with forward stepwise variable selection were fitted to examine the effect of several fertility variables on expectation of survival times.

Results

Virgin females displayed higher life expectancy than virgin males. The relative risk of dying for a virgin male at a particular age was 2.116 [99% confidence interval: 1.317, 3.398] times that of a virgin female. No significant differences on expectation of survival times between virgin and mated females, and between virgin and mated males were found. Furthermore, total number of pups at weaning and total number of litters produced by a dam/stud, time interval between mating and last litter, time interval between litters, and age at last litter were not significant predictors of expectation of survival times in both mated females and mated males.

Conclusions

Like in most human studies, the present study evidences no relationship between total number of offspring/litters produced by a dam/stud and expectation of survival times. Moreover, the present data are in agreement with the general phenomenon of a bias in life expectancy in favor of females.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Tarín et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Speakman JR: The physiological costs of reproduction in small mammals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2008, 363:375-398.
• [2]Plumel MI, Stier A, Thiersé D, van Dorsselaer A, Criscuolo F, Bertile F: Litter size manipulation in laboratory mice: an example of how proteomic analysis can uncover new mechanisms underlying the cost of reproduction. Front Zool 2014, 11:41. BioMed Central Full Text
• [3]Williams GC: Pleiotropy, natural selection, and the evolution of senescence. Evolution 1957, 11:398-411.
• [4]Atwood CS, Bowen RL: The reproductive-cell cycle theory of aging: an update. Exp Gerontol 2011, 46:100-107.
• [5]Hurt LS, Ronsmans C, Thomas SL: The effect of number of births on women’s mortality: systematic review of the evidence for women who have completed their childbearing. Popul Stud (Camb) 2006, 60:55-71.
• [6]Le Bourg E: Does reproduction decrease longevity in human beings? Ageing Res Rev 2007, 6:141-149.
• [7]Mitteldorf J: Female fertility and longevity. Age (Dordr) 2010, 32:79-84.
• [8]Ricklefs RE, Cadena CD: Lifespan is unrelated to investment in reproduction in populations of mammals and birds in captivity. Ecol Lett 2007, 10:867-872.
• [9]Mace GM, Pelletier F, Commentary on Ricklefs & Cadena (2007): Reproductive investment and lifespan. Ecol Lett 2007, 10:872-874.
• [10]Larke A, Crews DE: Parental investment, late reproduction, and increased reserve capacity are associated with longevity in humans. J Physiol Anthropol 2006, 25:119-131.
• [11]Aloise King ED, Garratt M, Brooks R: Manipulating reproductive effort leads to changes in female reproductive scheduling but not oxidative stress. Ecol Evol 2013, 3:4161-4171.
• [12]Brzęk P, Książek A, Ołdakowski Ł, Konarzewski M: High basal metabolic rate does not elevate oxidative stress during reproduction in laboratory mice. J Exp Biol 2014, 217(Pt 9):1504-1509.
• [13]Yang DB, Xu YC, Wang DH, Speakman JR: Effects of reproduction on immuno-suppression and oxidative damage, and hence support or otherwise for their roles as mechanisms underpinning life history trade-offs, are tissue and assay dependent. J Exp Biol 2013, 216(Pt 22):4242-4250.
• [14]Tarín JJ, Gómez-Piquer V, Rausell F, Navarro S, Hermenegild C, Cano A: Delayed motherhood decreases life expectancy of mouse offspring. Biol Reprod 2005, 72:1336-1343.
• [15]García-Palomares S, Navarro S, Pertusa JF, Hermenegildo C, García-Pérez MA, Rausell F, Cano A, Tarín JJ: Delayed fatherhood in mice decreases reproductive fitness and longevity of offspring. Biol Reprod 2009, 80:343-349.
• [16]Institute of Laboratory Animal Research: Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Washington DC: National Academies Press; 1996.
• [17]Whittaker AL, Howarth GS, Hickman DL: Effects of space allocation and housing density on measures of wellbeing in laboratory mice: a review. Lab Anim 2012, 46:3-13.
• [18]Gopalakrishnan S, Cheung NK, Yip BW, Au DW: Medaka fish exhibits longevity gender gap, a natural drop in estrogen and telomere shortening during aging: a unique model for studying sex-dependent longevity. Front Zool 2013, 10:78. BioMed Central Full Text
• [19]Smith DW: Is greater female longevity a general finding among animals? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 1989, 64:1-12.
• [20]Ginter E, Simko V: Women live longer than men. Bratisl Lek Listy 2013, 114:45-49.
• [21]Hoffman CL, Ruiz-Lambides AV, Davila E, Maldonado E, Gerald MS, Maestripieri D: Sex differences in survival costs of reproduction in a promiscuous primate. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2008, 62:1711-1718.
• [22]Papadopoulos NT, Liedo P, Müller HG, Wang JL, Molleman F, Carey JR: Cost of reproduction in male medflies: the primacy of sexual courting in extreme longevity reduction. J Insect Physiol 2010, 56:283-287.