Heterochronic Plasma Transfer: Experimental Design, Considerations, and Technical Challenges.

Experimental approaches such as Heterochronic Plasma Transfer (HPT) provides insights into the aging process and helps identify factors that impact aging, with the aim of developing anti-aging therapies. HPT involves the transfer of plasma from an animal of one age to an animal of a different age and highlights the effects of the systemic environment on aging. Despite its importance as an aging research tool, HPT is not without limitations and HPT experiments across various studies differ in key experimental designs considerations, presenting a challenge in obtaining comparable outcomes. In this review we examine the caveats and experimental design considerations of HPT as a research tool. We provide insights into plasma preparation procedures, route of administration, dosing regimen, and appropriate controls to assist investigators in achieving their experimental goals.