Protein phosphorylation: changes with age and age-related diseases

Effects of aging on hyperalgesia and spinal dynorphin expression in rats with peripheral inflammation

The aging process is associated with various morphological and biochemical changes in the nervous system that may affect the processing of noxious inputs. This study showed greater hyperalgesia and up-regulation of spinal dynorphin (DYN) expression in aging than in young adult rats during CFA-induced peripheral inflammation. These data indicate that nociception is regulated differently in aging individuals, a fact that should be considered when selecting treatment strategies for aging populations with persistent pain.

Influence of aging and calorie restriction on MAPKs activity in rat kidney

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), which include the extracellular signal-related kinases (ERK), the c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), and the p38 MAPK, are important regulatory proteins by which a wide variety of extracellular signals are transduced into intracellular sites. Recent studies reported that mitogenic signal transduction in various cell types are exquisitely sensitive to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the celluar redox status. In the present study, we investigated the activation of MAPK activity by aging and calorie restriction (CR) in rat kidneys isolated from Fischer 344 rats, ages 6, 12, 18, and 24 months fed ad libitum (AL) and CR diets. Results showed that the aging process strongly enhanced all three of the MAPK activities studied, ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPK, in parallel to increased ROS status. In contrast, we observed CR to markedly suppress the age-related activation of MAPKs. Based on these data, we concluded that an age-related increase in MAPK activity is associated with increased ROS, which was effectively suppressed by the anti-oxidative action of CR.

cAMP-dependent protein kinase in cerebral microvessels in aging and Alzheimer disease

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of aging and Alzheimer disease (AD) on the important intracellular signaling enzyme cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) in cerebral microvessels. PKA activity and levels were measured in microvessels isolated from the brains of adult and aged rodents as well as from the cerebral cortices of AD and elderly control patients. The results showed that cerebral microvessels from aged rats have significantly (p < 0.01) higher PKA activity and levels when compared to cerebral microvessels from adult rats. In contrast, no significant difference was found between PKA activity or levels in cerebral microvessels from AD patients when compared to controls. These results indicate that in cerebral microvessels both PKA activity and levels increase with age but are unaffected by AD. The data suggest that protein phosphorylation in brain microvessels may be affected differentially by aging and dementia.