Summary
To clarify the effect of aging on bone metabolism, alteration of the cellular zinc content and protein synthesis was examined in the femoral diaphysis of 3- and 30-week-old male rats. The cellular zinc content in bone tissue markedly decreased in 30-week-old compared to 3-week-old rats. When the bone tissue from older rats were cultured with [3H]leucine, incorporation of [3H]leucine into the acid-insoluble residues was less than for weanling rats. This decrease was partly restored by the oral administration of zinc sulfate (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg Zn/100 g body weight) to elderly rats for 3 days. An increase of in vitro [3H]leucine incorporation by bone tissues obtained from the rats that had received zinc (2.0 mg/100 g) was blocked by cycloheximide (10−6 M) or dipicolinate (10−3 M), a chelator of zinc. These results suggest that bone protein synthesis declines with age, and that this decline may be based partly on the decrease in bone cellular zinc.
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Yamaguchi, M., Ozaki, K. Aging affects cellular zinc and protein synthesis in the femoral diaphysis of rats. Res. Exp. Med. 190, 295–300 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000035
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000035