Project description:Aging is associated with a decline in hippocampal mediated learning and memory, a process which can be ameliorated by dietary (caloric) restriction. We used Affymetrix gene expression analysis to monitor changes in three regions of the hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) of middle aged (18 months) and old (28 month) rats that were exposed to dietary restriction. Old rats were determined to be good performers (GP) or poor performers (PP) in behavioural tests to assess their hippocampal function. We used Affymetrix gene expression analysis to monitor changes in three regions of the hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) of middle aged (18 months) and old (28 month) rats that were exposed to dietary restriction.
Project description:Aging is associated with a decline in hippocampal mediated learning and memory, a process wich can be ameliorated by dietary (caloric) restriction. We used Affymetrix gene expression analysis to monitor changes in three regions of the hippocampus (CA1, CA3, DG) of middle aged (18 months) and old (28 month) rats that were exposed to dietary restriction. Old rats were determined to be good performers (GP) or poor performers (PP) in behavioral tests to assess thier hippocampal function.
Project description:Aging is believed to be the result of alterations of protein expression and accumulation of changes in biomolecules. Although there are numerous reports demonstrating changes in protein expression in brain during aging, only few of them describe global changes in the protein level. Here, we present a deepest quantitative proteomic analysis of three brain regions, hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum, in mice aged 1 and 12 months, using the total protein approach technique. In all the brain regions, both in young and in middle-aged animals, we identified over 6,700 proteins. We found that although the total protein expression in middle-aged brain structures is practically unaffected by aging, there are significant differences between young adult and middle-aged mice in the expression of some receptors and signaling cascade proteins proven to be significant for learning and memory formation. Our analysis demonstrates that hippocampus is the most unstable structure during natural aging and that the first symptoms of weakening of neuronal plasticity may be observed on protein level in middle-aged animals.
Project description:This study investigated proteome profile in the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and striatum of 14, 18, 23, and 27 months old rats in order to see the effect of aging on proteins in these regions. Using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive HF Orbitrap mass spectrometry, we identified 1074 proteins in the hippocampus, 871 proteins in the mPFC, and 241 proteins the striatum. Ninety-seven, 25, and 5 of these proteins were differentially expressed with age in the hippocampus, mPFC, and striatum, respectively. Overall, aging causes divergent protein changes in specific brain regions, with the most prominent changes observed in the late-aged.
Project description:We carried out a global survey of age-related changes in mRNA levels in the C57BL/6NIA mouse hippocampus and found a difference in the hippocampal gene expression profile between 2-month-old young mice and 15-month-old middle-aged mice correlated with an age-related cognitive deficit in hippocampal-based explicit memory formation. Middle-aged mice displayed a mild but specific deficit in spatial memory in the Morris water maze. Experiment Overall Design: No technical replicates; 14 biological replicates for 15-month-old mice, 9 biological replicates for 2-month-old mice. Whole hippocampus.
Project description:To further analyze the effect of aging and caloric restriction in the microRNA expression, we have employed microarray expression profiling as a discovery platform to identify differentially expressed microRNAs in middle-aged animals and the impact of caloric restriction in the microRNA expression profile. Subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue were extracted from 3 groups of mice: 3 month-old, 12 month-old fed ad libitum and 12 month-old fed with a caloric restricted diet. Comparisons between young and middle-aged animals in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, and between the 12 month old ad libitum and 12 month old caloric restricted diet in both adipose depots were made.
Project description:Curcumin has been demonstrated to have many neuroprotective properties, including improvement of cognition in humans and neurogenesis in animals, yet the mechanism of such effects remains unclear. Here, we assessed behavioural performance and hippocampal cell proliferation in aged rats after 6- and 12-week curcumin-fortified diets. Curcumin enhanced non-spatial and spatial memory, as well as dentate gyrate cell proliferation as compared to control diet rats. We also investigated underlying mechanistic pathways that might link curcumin treatment to increased cognition and neurogenesis via microarray analysis of cortical and hippocampal mRNA transcription. We used microarrays to investigate the effects of short-term (6-week) and long-term (12-week) curcumin-supplemented diet on gene expression of hippocampus and cortex in aged rats. The hippocampus and cortex of every three rats from one group were pooled together, respectively and used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. To ensure the reliability of the data, we conducted hybridization experiments in duplicate microarrays from each RNA sample. The tissues examined by microarray are as follows: the hippocampus and cortex of 6-week curcumin-treated 15-month-old rats, the hippocampus and cortex of 6-week no curcumin-treated 15-month-old rats (control rats), the hippocampus and cortex of 12-week curcumin-treated 15-month-old rats, the hippocampus and cortex of 12-week no curcumin-treated 15-month-old rats (control rats).
Project description:Dietary fats have been shown to affect gut microbiota composition and aging gene transcription of middle-aged rats at a normal dose, but little is known about such an effect on gut barrier. In colon, the main component of mucus layer is Muc2, produced by the goblet cells. This study investigated the changes in Muc2 expression, goblet cells proliferation, TLRs and inflammatory cytokines in the colon of middle-aged rats. Proteome technology was applied to explore the possible molecular mechanisms. The results indicated that intake of fish oil at a normal dose downregulated colonic Muc2 expression, and this negative effect of fish oil probably involved the suppression of mucin glycosylation process.
Project description:We carried out a global survey of age-related changes in mRNA levels in the C57BL/6NIA mouse hippocampus and found a difference in the hippocampal gene expression profile between 2-month-old young mice and 15-month-old middle-aged mice correlated with an age-related cognitive deficit in hippocampal-based explicit memory formation. Middle-aged mice displayed a mild but specific deficit in spatial memory in the Morris water maze. Keywords: age comparison