Aging is a multifaceted process characterized by the gradual decline of physiological functions and can be modulated by various internal and external factors. While social interactions have been shown to affect behaviors and physiology in different species, the impact of social partners on aging-related phenotypes and lifespan in mice remains understudied. To address this question, we investigated various aging-related traits and lifespan in two mouse strains, C57BL/6J and BALB/c, under two different housing conditions: mixed-strain and same-strain housing. Analyses using a Generalized Linear Model revealed significant differences between the two strains in several phenotypes, including metabolic, anxiety-like, and electrocardiographic traits. However, surprisingly, housing conditions did not significantly affect most of the examined parameters, including overall lifespan. Only 3 out of 25 traits—body weight change in a metabolic cage, running wheel activity, and survival days of a quartiles of mice with middle lifespans—were influenced by housing conditions in a strain-dependent manner. Together, our study suggested a minimal influence of co-housing with social partners from different genetic backgrounds on aging-related phenotypes. This result demonstrates the feasibility of mixed housing for mouse husbandry and, more importantly, provides valuable insights for future research on the social influences on the aging process in mice.

衰老是一个多方面的过程，其特征是生理功能逐渐下降，可以受到各种内部和外部因素的调节。虽然社会互动已被证明会影响不同物种的行为和生理学，但社会伙伴对小鼠衰老相关表型和寿命的影响仍未得到充分研究。为了解决这个问题，我们研究了两种小鼠品系 C57BL/6J 和 BALB/c 在两种不同的外壳条件下的各种衰老相关特征和寿命：混合品系和同品系外壳。使用广义线性模型的分析揭示了两种菌株在几种表型上的显着差异，包括代谢、焦虑样和心电图特征。然而，令人惊讶的是，住房条件并没有显着影响大多数检查参数，包括整体寿命。25 个性状中只有 3 个——代谢笼中的体重变化、跑轮活动和中等寿命小鼠的四分位数的存活天数——以菌株依赖性方式受到住房条件的影响。总之，我们的研究表明，与来自不同遗传背景的社会伴侣同住对衰老相关表型的影响最小。这一结果证明了混合饲养小鼠饲养的可行性，更重要的是，为未来研究社会影响小鼠衰老过程提供了有价值的见解。