Rapamycin increases lifespan and inhibits spontaneous tumorigenesis in inbred female mice

Anisimov VN, Zabezhinski MA, Popovich IG, Piskunova TS, Semenchenko AV, Tyndyk ML, Yurova MN, Rosenfeld SV, Blagosklonny MV · 2011 · Cell Cycle · Atlas ID ANI2011

What this study shows

Female 129/Sv inbred mice received rapamycin intermittently, 2 weeks in every month, from 2 months of age for the rest of their lives. Treated mice gained less weight with age, showed a slower estimated rate of ageing, lived longer, with the gain most visible among the last survivors, and developed spontaneous tumours later. 22.9% of rapamycin-treated mice were still alive when the last control mouse died. The paper provided evidence that an intermittent rapamycin schedule can extend lifespan in a normal inbred mouse strain, adding to earlier results in genetically heterogeneous mice. Boundary: Female mice of a single inbred strain (129/Sv) only; drafted from the abstract only, so dose, group sizes and median-lifespan statistics are not given here.

Abstract

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The nutrient-sensing TOR (target of rapamycin) pathway is involved in cellular and organismal aging. Rapamycin, an inhibitor of TOR, extends lifespan in yeast, fruit flies and genetically heterogeneous mice. Here, we demonstrate that lifelong administration of rapamycin extends lifespan in female 129/Sv mice characterized by normal mean lifespan of 2 y. Importantly, rapamycin was administrated intermittently (2 weeks per month) starting from the age of 2 mo.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Female 129/Sv inbred mice given rapamycin intermittently (2 weeks per month) from 2 months of age for life; survival, body weight, ageing-rate measures and spontaneous tumours); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type	4 - Animal Study
Model system	Female 129/Sv inbred mice given rapamycin intermittently (2 weeks per month) from 2 months of age for life; survival, body weight, ageing-rate measures and spontaneous tumours
Journal	Cell Cycle
Year	2011
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.4161/cc.10.24.18486 · PMID 22107964

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Rapamycin, intermittent (2 weeks per month), lifelong from 2 months of age
Target	mTOR (TOR)
Model	Mouse (female 129/Sv)
Effect	Increased lifespan, reduced age-related weight gain, delayed spontaneous cancer

In the Atlas

Links in the pathway map

Supports Rapamycin activates Longevity

Cite this paper

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Anisimov, V. N., Zabezhinski, M. A., Popovich, I. G., Piskunova, T. S., Semenchenko, A. V., Tyndyk, M. L., Yurova, M. N., Rosenfeld, S. V., & Blagosklonny, M. V. (2011). Rapamycin increases lifespan and inhibits spontaneous tumorigenesis in inbred female mice. Cell Cycle. https://doi.org/10.4161/cc.10.24.18486

@article{ANI2011,
  author       = {Anisimov, V. N. and Zabezhinski, M. A. and Popovich, I. G. and Piskunova, T. S. and Semenchenko, A. V. and Tyndyk, M. L. and Yurova, M. N. and Rosenfeld, S. V. and Blagosklonny, M. V.},
  title        = {{Rapamycin increases lifespan and inhibits spontaneous tumorigenesis in inbred female mice}},
  journal      = {Cell Cycle},
  year         = {2011},
  doi          = {10.4161/cc.10.24.18486},
  note         = {PMID: 22107964},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record ANI2011) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ANI2011/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_ANI2011,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record ANI2011},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ANI2011/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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