Complementing the work on human cells, the overall objective of this WP is to establish and use various manipulatory and genetic animal models to prototypically study ageing of HSC and endothelial cells in vivo. The experiments are aimed at:
(1) Determining the role of environmental cues, such as DNA damage and oxidative stress on cellular senescence and subsequently of organismal ageing.
(2) Defining the molecular mechanisms and functional consequences of vascular ageing.
(3) Providing a series of established model systems for WP5 and the development of screening assays.