Sex-dimorphic immune trajectories across the canine lifespan and early-life signatures of geroprotective interventions
- 1Institute of Advanced Biotechnology, Institute of Homeostatic Medicine, and School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055,
Abstract
Canine models are invaluable for translational geroscience, but natural sex-associated immune aging remains underinvestigated. Here, we characterize the age-associated hematologic and serum cytokine profiles in a controlled cross-sectional cohort of 80 intact laboratory Beagles spanning 1 to 11 years of age. Canine immune aging is heterogeneous and non-linear. While several absolute leukocyte counts declined with age before rising again in geriatric dogs, serum cytokines exhibited distinct, sex-stratified patterns. Although more cytokines varied significantly with age in males than in females, formal age-by-sex interactions did not remain significant after false discovery rate correction. To explore short-term geroprotective responses, we evaluated 24 young beagles following a 90-day intervention with rapamycin, canagliflozin, or dietary restriction. Rapamycin was associated with the broadest endpoint cytokine response. Canagliflozin showed narrower cytokine differences alongside descriptive body-weight reduction, whereas dietary restriction reduced body weight without altering measured immune endpoints. Given the small group sizes and endpoint-only cytokine measurements, these intervention findings remain exploratory and hypothesis-generating. Together, our findings describe stage-specific hematologic changes and sex-stratified cytokine patterns across the canine lifespan and provide a basis for future longitudinal studies.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{lai2026sexdimorphic,
title = {{Sex-dimorphic immune trajectories across the canine lifespan and early-life signatures of geroprotective interventions}},
author = {M. Lai and F. Xu and Y. Xu and A. Mironenkov and Y. Jin and S. Zhang and J. Pan and M. Li and B. Deng and J.-K. Zhu and Y.-X. Lyu},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.09.750505},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.09.750505v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Sex-dimorphic immune trajectories across the canine lifespan and early-life signatures of geroprotective interventions
AU - M. Lai
AU - F. Xu
AU - Y. Xu
AU - A. Mironenkov
AU - Y. Jin
AU - S. Zhang
AU - J. Pan
AU - M. Li
AU - B. Deng
AU - J.-K. Zhu
AU - Y.-X. Lyu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/09
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.09.750505
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.09.750505v1
AB - Canine models are invaluable for translational geroscience, but natural sex-associated immune aging remains underinvestigated. Here, we characterize the age-associated hematologic and serum cytokine profiles in a controlled cross-sectional cohort of 80 intact laboratory Beagles spanning 1 to 11 years of age. Canine immune aging is heterogeneous and non-linear. While several absolute leukocyte counts declined with age before rising again in geriatric dogs, serum cytokines exhibited distinct, sex-stratified patterns. Although more cytokines varied significantly with age in males than in females, formal age-by-sex interactions did not remain significant after false discovery rate correction. To explore short-term geroprotective responses, we evaluated 24 young beagles following a 90-day intervention with rapamycin, canagliflozin, or dietary restriction. Rapamycin was associated with the broadest endpoint cytokine response. Canagliflozin showed narrower cytokine differences alongside descriptive body-weight reduction, whereas dietary restriction reduced body weight without altering measured immune endpoints. Given the small group sizes and endpoint-only cytokine measurements, these intervention findings remain exploratory and hypothesis-generating. Together, our findings describe stage-specific hematologic changes and sex-stratified cytokine patterns across the canine lifespan and provide a basis for future longitudinal studies.
ER -