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Age-related Oxidative Modifications of Proteins and Lipids in Rat Brain

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Abstract

Oxidants have been shown to play a major role in ageing and ageing-related neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we investigated the effect of ageing on oxidative damage to lipids and proteins in brain homogenate, mitochondria and synaptosomes of adult (6-month-old), old (15-month-old), and senescent (26-month-old) Wistar rats. There was a significant increase in thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and conjugated dienes in homogenates, which indicate increased lipid peroxidation (LPO). Oxidative modifications of homogenate proteins were demonstrated by a loss of sulfhydryl content, accumulation of dityrosines and formation of protein conjugates with LPO-end products. Increase in protein conjugates with LPO-end products and a decrease in SH groups were observed also in mitochondria and synaptosomes, but dityrosine content was elevated only in synaptosomes. Protein surface hydrophobicity, measured by fluorescent probe 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS), was increased only in homogenate. These results suggest that besides mitochondria and synaptosomes other cellular compartments are oxidatively modified during brain ageing.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by grants VEGA 1/2263/05 and 3380/06, MVTS 39 and APVT-51-027404 from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Slovak Republic. The authors thank to Prof. B. Hamprecht and Dr. R. Murin for their comments and critically reading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Biochemistry, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mala Hora 4, 03601, Martin, Slovak Republic

    E. Babusikova, J. Hatok, D. Dobrota & P. Kaplan

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  1. E. Babusikova
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  2. J. Hatok
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  3. D. Dobrota
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  4. P. Kaplan
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Correspondence to E. Babusikova.

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Babusikova, E., Hatok, J., Dobrota, D. et al. Age-related Oxidative Modifications of Proteins and Lipids in Rat Brain. Neurochem Res 32, 1351–1356 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-007-9314-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-007-9314-0

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