Effects of the type of dietary fat at two levels of vitamin E in Wistar male rats during development and aging. II. Biochemical and morphometric parameters of the brain

Dietary factors in lipofuscinogenesis and ceroidogenesis

The presence of ceroid pigments in human and animal tissues is associated with numerous pathological conditions in which the main pathogenic factor is the primary or secondary deficiency of vitamin E or imbalances between anti- and pro-oxidants. That oxidative stress, particularly through its consequent lipid peroxidation, plays a capital role in the genesis of ceroid pigments, is supported by numerous in vitro and in vivo studies. Discussed in this presentation are two examples of oxidative stress on ceroidogenesis, namely the in vivo rat model of dietary hepatic necrosis, and the in vitro formation of ceroid pigments by the aerobic incubation of unsaturated fat and blood cells. Although it is widely believed that the progressive accumulation of lipofuscin is also a marker of oxidative stress, and that this pigment can be modulated by the dietary anti- and pro-oxidant factors, the evidence for these related notions is highly questionable. Some years ago, this controversial problem was reexplored in our laboratories by a series of studies in Wistar male rats, and the results indicated that neither the type of dietary fat, nor the pharmacological amounts of vitamin E significantly influenced the amounts of lipofuscin in cerebral neurons, cerebellar Purkinje cells, hepatocytes or cardiac myocytes. It was also found that the indices of lipid peroxidation determined in this study (production of malonaldehyde, and detection of conjugated dienes) did not correlate with the progressive accumulation of lipofuscin with age. All these results strongly suggest that the presence and cellular accumulation of lipofuscin can hardly be considered a marker of oxidative stress.

Pigments in aging: an overview

Although during the normal aging process there are numerous pigmentary changes, the best recognized are those of melanin and lipofuscin. Melanin may increase (e.g., age spots, senile lentigo, or melanosis coli) or decrease (e.g., graying of hair or ocular melanin) with age, while lipofuscin (also called age pigment) always increases with age. In fact, the time-dependent accumulation of lipofuscin in lysosomes of postmitotic cells and some stable cells is the most consistent and phylogenetically constant morphologic change of aging. This pigment displays a typical autofluorescence (Ex: approximately 440; Em: approximately 600 nm), sudanophilia, argyrophilia, PAS positiveness, and acid fastness. Advances on its biogenesis, composition, evolution, and lysosomal degradation have been hampered by the persistent confusion between lipofuscin and the large family of ceroid pigments found in a variety of pathological conditions, as evidenced by the frequent use of the hybrid term lipofuscin/ceroid by investigators mainly working with in vitro systems of disputable relevance to in vivo lipofuscinogenesis. While lipofuscin and ceroid pigments may share some of their physicochemical properties at one moment or another in their evolutions, these pigments have different tissue distribution, rates of accumulation, origin of their precursors, and lectin binding affinities. Although it is widely believed that lipofuscin is a marker of oxidative stress, and that it can be, therefore, modified by antioxidants and prooxidants, these assumptions are mainly based on in vitro experiments and are not generally supported by in vivo studies. Another common misconception is the belief that lipofuscin can be extracted from tissues by lipid solvents and measured spectrofluorometrically. These and other disturbing problems are reviewed and discussed in this presentation.

The reductive hotspot hypothesis: an update

The mitochondrial free radical theory of aging is seriously challenged by the finding that mutant mtDNA never becomes abundant in vivo, a result disputed only in experiments using novel PCR variants whose quantitative accuracy is widely doubted. However, evidence continues to mount that mitochondria are the crucial site of free radical damage in vivo, most notably that mice lacking the nonmitochondrial isoforms of superoxide dismutase are healthy. It is thus important to determine whether a low level of mutant mtDNA could have serious systemic effects. This possibility exists because of the observed mosaic distribution of mutant mtDNA: some cells (or muscle fiber segments) lack any aerobic respiration. Such cells are presumed to satisfy their ATP needs by glycolysis. In vitro, however, NADH recycling by transmembrane pyruvate/lactate exchange does not suffice: cells only survive if they can up-regulate the plasma membrane oxidoreductase (PMOR). The PMOR's physiological electron acceptor is unknown. It was proposed recently (de Grey, A. D. N. J. (1998) J. Anti-Aging Med. 1(1), 53-66) that a prominent in vivo acceptor from these mitochondrially mutant cells may be oxygen, forming extracellular superoxide. The mosaic ("hotspot") distribution of this superoxide would limit its dismutation by extracellular superoxide dismutase; it may thus reduce transition metals leading to oxidation of circulating material, such as LDL. This would raise systemic oxidative stress, greatly amplifying the damage done by the originating mitochondrially mutant cells. This model, now known as the "reductive hotspot hypothesis," has recently gained much indirect experimental support; several direct tests of it are also feasible.

Advances in age pigment research

Although it is presently accepted that lipofuscin (age-pigment) is the end product of the physiological decay of the cells' own constituents, the intimate mechanisms involved in its formation are largely unknown. The advances in the field of lipofuscinogenesis have been relatively slow, mainly due to the persistent confusion between the naturally occurring normal lipofuscin and the pathologically formed ceroid pigments. Therefore, attempts have been made in this presentation to review first the differential features between these pigments and second, to provide a general overview on the physicochemical properties of lipofuscin. The two prevailing theories on lipofuscinogenesis, the peroxidative theory and the proteolytic decline theory, are critically discussed, and future lines of research are suggested for the resolution of present uncertainties on lipofuscinogenesis. Since lipofuscin is properly considered the hallmark of cellular aging, it is expected that the unraveling of the mechanisms involved in lipofuscin formation will provide important clues to the still unknown underlying causes of cellular aging.

Effect of lifelong selenium and vitamin E deficiency or supplementation on pigment accumulation in rat peripheral tissues

The accumulation of lipopigments during aging in several peripheral organs and in the nervous system is considered to be related to the peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids. In this study the effect of lifelong (until to 18 months) dietary antioxidants selenium and vitamin-E on pigment accumulation in some peripheral tissues was estimated using fluorescence and electron microscopy. In the vitamin E deficiency group, there was increased pigment accumulation in all peripheral tissues studied except the hypogastric ganglion, where no change was observed. The vitamin E supplementation degreased the pigment accumulation in older animals in some of the tissues studied. At the electron microscopical level the accumulated pigment in the adrenal cortex showed a lipofuscin-like structure. Lifelong selenium supplementation or deficiency did not significantly alter pigment accumulation in any of the tissues studied. It is possible that in many organs dietary selenium may not play a critical role in lipofuscin formation.

Lipofuscin and lipofuscin-like substances

Lipofuscin is defined as being a yellowish brown, lipid-rich, heterogeneous, cytoplasmic granular pigment emitting an intense yellow autofluorescence when excited with ultraviolet light, which accumulates in various tissues of animals during their aging. It is believed that the pigments are derived from the reaction of some of reactive secondary products including malonaldehyde, formed during membranous lipid peroxidation, with amino groups of phospholipids and proteins, etc., and that these formations are accompanied by alteration of the membrane structure and inactivation of the enzymes. The fluorescence measurement of the pigments is widely used as a parameter of lipid peroxidation in vivo as well as in vitro. However, their origin, chemical structure, biological significance or fate has not as yet been fully elucidated. This article introduces and discusses the recent studies on these problems.

The effect of vitamin E deficiency on the induction of age pigment in various tissues of the mouse

The effect of a dietary deficiency of vitamin E on the concentrations of lipofuscin in the hippocampus and the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the hypothalamus, and in adrenal cortical cells was assessed in male mice. The animals were fed either a control diet or the vitamin E deficient diet after 2 months of age for a period of 6 months. There was no significant difference in the growth curves of the 2 groups of animals over the period studied. Fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to assess the effect of the diet on lipofuscin in the different tissues. Quantitative morphological techniques were used to determine the relative volumes of lipofuscin in the neurons from the SON and in the adrenal cortical cells. There was no significant difference in the concentration of lipofuscin in the SON neurons after vitamin E deficiency but there was a significant increase in the adrenal cortical cells. There was a clear difference in the effect of the deficiency on mitotic and fixed post-mitotic cells over the period investigated but further studies would be necessary to determine whether or not there was a critical period in the life span where vitamin E deficiency may induce changes in all cell types.

Heart and liver lipid fatty acid and behavior changes in mice after a diet change

270-Day old, male Ham/ICR mice were subjected to a diet change from high protein and carbohydrate and low fat to a diet higher in fat and lower in carbohydrate and protein. Age matched mice were maintained on laboratory rodent chow as controls. The diet change was not defined so the observed differences could not necessarily be ascribed to altered protein, carbohydrate, or fat intake. Comparison of the controls with the experimental mice revealed the " junk food" mice differed in lipid fatty acid profiles of the heart and liver and in percentage of lipid palmitic and oleic acids in these organs and also in plasma. Appearance was altered in the experimental mice which had dull, greasy coats. In addition, the experimental animals were less active, slept singly, and were slower in negotiating a three-choice maze than their comparably housed counterparts, indicating altered activity/curiosity behavior.

Vitamin E protects against methyl ethyl ketone peroxide-induced peroxidative damage to rat brain DNA

Peroxidative damage to DNA initiated by methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, a potent initiator of lipid peroxidation, and protection against this damage by vitamin E were studied in rats. Groups of rats were fed a casein-based diet that contained 10% tocopherol-stripped corn oil and either 0, 3, 5, or 10 IU of DL-alpha-tocopherol acetate/kg; the groups were named 0, 3, 5, or 10, respectively. DNA isolated from the brains of these rats was analyzed for template activity, bound tryptophan, and malondialdehyde-type DNA-protein and interstrand DNA crosslinks. The DNA of groups 5 and 10 had significantly higher template activity, less bound tryptophan, and fewer crosslinks than that of groups 3 and 5, respectively. The DNA of group 3 had significantly fewer interstrand DNA crosslinks than that of group 0, and the most significant differences were between groups 3 and 5. Loss of template activity correlated best with interstrand DNA crosslinks, and bound tryptophan correlated best with DNA-protein crosslinks. Electrophoresis of the RNA transcribed from the isolated DNA showed that a significantly higher percentage of longer RNA was made from the DNA of groups 5 and 10 than from that of group 0. The apparent molecular weight of the DNA of group 0 was less than that of group 10 and was more heterogeneous, which suggests fragmentation and/or crosslinking. The DNA from group 10 had maximum observed template activity; therefore, 10 IU of vitamin E/kg of diet appeared to be adequate to protect brain DNA against the damage measured in this study.

Effects of the type of dietary fat at two levels of vitamin E in Wistar male rats during development and aging. III. Biochemical and morphometric parameters of the liver

The purpose of this study was to explore in rats the possible influence of the type of dietary fat at two extreme levels of vitamin E on several biochemically determined hepatic changes and on a number of quantitatively analyzed structural and ultrastructural variations with age in hepatic cells. Six groups of weanling Wistar male rats were fed ad libitum isoenergetic diets containing similar amounts (15 g per 100 g diet) of saturated fat (coconut oil), unsaturated fat (safflower oil) or a combination of both at two levels of dl-alpha-tocopherol (2 or 200 mg per 100 g of diet). Determinations were performed in rats killed at 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. Although in relation to age and irrespective of the type of diet, several of the biochemical parameters fluctuated with time, comparisons of the results between the youngest and oldest rats showed no changes in the levels of hepatic RNA, phospholipids, cholesterol, total tocopherols and total collagens, significant increases in DNA and triglycerides and a significant decrease in total protein. While the type of diet did not have in general significant influences on the levels of DNA, RNA, total protein and collagens, either the type of dietary fat and/or the levels of vitamin E had some definite effects on the levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, phospholipids and total tocopherols, as well as on the in vitro formation of malonaldehyde and on the eventual occurrence of in vivo lipoperoxidation (diene conjugation). These effects, however, varied in relation to the duration of the diverse dietary treatments. The morphologic studies indicated that all the livers had variable but generally moderate degrees of fatty changes (mainly due to triglyceride accumulation) which were attributed to the moderate obesity found in the rats. The mean nuclear and cell dimensions of hepatocytes, the number of binucleated hepatocytes, surface density of rough endoplasmic reticulum, numerical density of mitochondria and the fractional cytoplasmic volume occupied by lipofuscin pigment in hepatocytes were not significantly affected by the type of diet, by age or by the eventual occurrence of in vivo hepatic lipoperoxidation, whereas the numerical density of hepatocytes (mono- and binucleated) and "litoral cells" (endothelial, Kupffer and Ito cells), although unaffected by diet, significantly increased with age. On the other hand, the fractional volume of mitochondria and peroxisomes, as well as the numerical density of peroxisomes, were significantly influenced by the type of dietary fat and to lesser extent by the dietary levels of vitamin E.