Multitissue, multi–time point transcriptomic atlas of aging in mice and rats

To determine the genes and pathways that are up- or down-regulated in a consistent manner throughout the rodent lifespan, we generated a high N age-related gene expression atlas in mice and rats, by profiling 28 tissues in male and female C57BL/6J mice and 32 tissues in male Sprague Dawley rats (>5000 samples) over multiple time points. We identified age-related genes and pathways that change either early in life, at mid-age, late in life, or linearly throughout the animals’ lifespan. Linear genes dominated many but not all tissues, and certain tissues were relatively spared from age-related changes. We explored common and different features of aging between tissues, sexes, and species. Given the expanse of our transcriptomic dataset, we believe that this study will serve as a useful resource for understanding the timing, tissue specificity, sex-specificity, and species specificity of age-related gene and pathway changes in mice and rats.