Anthony J. Donato

About

Anthony J. Donato, PhD, MS, is a faculty member in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. His primary research focus is vascular aging, specifically the cellular, molecular, and tissue-specific events that lead to reductions in muscle blood flow during exercise, impair arterial endothelial function, and cause stiffening of large elastic arteries in older rodents and adults. These vascular phenotypes contribute to the age-related decline in functional capacity and the development of cardiovascular disease. His research aims to understand these processes and explore lifestyle interventions such as habitual exercise and caloric restriction that can ameliorate these vascular changes. Additionally, he investigates the cellular pathways conferring the vaso-protective effects of these lifestyle interventions and seeks to activate these pathways pharmacologically to replicate their benefits. Dr. Donato employs human, rodent, and cell models, utilizing a wide range of contemporary translational experimental techniques from microRNA gene expression to ultrasonography to address these questions. His work has contributed to understanding the mechanisms of vascular aging and potential therapeutic strategies to mitigate age-related vascular dysfunction.

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Pharmacology
• Biology
• Biochemistry
• Gerontology
• Immunology
• Intensive care medicine
• Cell biology
• Bioinformatics

Selected publications

• Mechanisms and consequences of endothelial cell senescence

  Nature Reviews Cardiology · 2022 · 432 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Senolytic drugs, dasatinib and quercetin, attenuate adipose tissue inflammation, and ameliorate metabolic function in old age

  Aging Cell · 2023 · 263 citations

  Aging results in an elevated burden of senescent cells, senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and tissue infiltration of immune cells contributing to chronic low-grade inflammation and a host of age-related diseases. Recent evidence suggests that the clearance of senescent cells alleviates chronic inflammation and its associated dysfunction and diseases. However, the effect of this intervention on metabolic function in old age remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that dasa…

  DOI

• Clinical pharmacology and tolerability of REC‐994, a redox‐cycling nitroxide compound, in randomized phase 1 dose‐finding studies

  Pharmacology Research & Perspectives · 2024-04-24 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) has variable clinical symptoms, including potentially fatal hemorrhagic stroke. Treatment options are very limited, presenting a large unmet need. REC‐994 (also known as tempol), identified as a potential treatment through an unbiased drug discovery platform, is hypothesized to treat CCMs through a reduction in superoxide, a reactive oxygen species. We investigated the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic profile of REC‐994 in healthy volunteer…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mechanisms of cellular senescence-induced vascular aging: evidence of senotherapeutic strategies

  The Journal of Cardiovascular Aging · 2025-03-20 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death worldwide, with advancing age being the primary, nonmodifiable risk factor. Vascular dysfunction, namely arterial stiffening and endothelial dysfunction, is the key antecedent to the development of clinical CVD with aging. Fundamental aging macro-mechanistic processes that drive vascular aging include excess oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and declines in the vasodilatory molecule nitric oxide. An important hallmark of aging…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Endothelial-Specific Reduction in Arf6 Impairs Insulin-Stimulated Vasodilation and Skeletal Muscle Blood Flow Resulting in Systemic Insulin Resistance in Mice

  Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology · 2024-03-28 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Much of what we know about insulin resistance is based on studies from metabolically active tissues such as the liver, adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle. Emerging evidence suggests that the vascular endothelium plays a crucial role in systemic insulin resistance; however, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Arf6 (ADP ribosylation factor 6) is a small GTPase that plays a critical role in endothelial cell function. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the deletio…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant K01AG029337

  NIH · $613k · 2013

• Novel Methodology for Identification of Senolytics that Reduce Age-related Disease and Dysfunction

  NIH · $1.6M · 2016–2022

• NIH Grant R01AG040297

  NIH · $1.5M · 2016

Frequent coauthors

• Lisa A. Lesniewski

  University of Utah

  371 shared

• Russell S. Richardson

  University of Utah

  137 shared

• Ashley E. Walker

  University of Oregon

  127 shared

• Daniel R. Machin

  Florida State University

  110 shared

• Douglas R. Seals

  University of Colorado Boulder

  98 shared

• D. Walter Wray

  University of Utah

  76 shared

• Dean Y. Li

  65 shared

• Grant D. Henson

  University of Oregon

  65 shared

Labs

• Anthony J. Donato LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Internal Medicine

  University of Utah

• M.S., Geriatrics

  University of Utah

Similar researchers at University of Utah

• Mark A. Supianoh-54