Effects of Dietary Restriction and Metal Supplementation on the Accumulation of Iron-Laden Glial Inclusions in the Aging Rat Hippocampus.
Biogerontology 2004;
5:81-8. [PMID:
15105582 DOI:
10.1023/b:bgen.0000025071.78517.3a]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The mechanisms responsible for the pathological deposition of iron and other redox-active metals in the aging and degenerating mammalian CNS remain poorly understood. We previously demonstrated that normal aging and pharmacological (oxidative) stressors promote the transformation of astroglial mitochondria to iron-laden, diaminobenzidine (DAB)-positive cytoplasmic inclusions in sub-cortical regions of the rat brain. In the current study, we demonstrate that (1) numbers of DAB-positive glial granules in the rat dorsal hippocampus, an area implicated in learning and memory, progressively increase between 3, 12 and 22 months of age; (2) dietary restriction (40%), a manipulation that attenuates many mammalian aging processes, has no effect on the age-related accumulation of these gliosomes in the rat hippocampus; and (3) the latter can be accelerated by dietary supplementation of iron and copper. Our data support the view that dietary exposure to iron and/or copper in adult life can impact the sequestration of redox-active metals in aging hippocampal astroglia.
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