title: Aging affects cellular zinc and protein synthesis in the femoral diaphysis of rats.
abstract: To clarify the effect of aging on bone metabolism, alteration of the cellular zinc content and protein synthesis was examined in the femoral diaphysis of 3- and 30-week-old male rats. The cellular zinc content in bone tissue markedly decreased in 30-week-old compared to 3-week-old rats. When the bone tissue from older rats were cultured with [3H]leucine, incorporation of [3H]leucine into the acid-insoluble residues was less than for weanling rats. This decrease was partly restored by the oral administration of zinc sulfate (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg Zn/100 g body weight) to elderly rats for 3 days. An increase of in vitro [3H]leucine incorporation by bone tissues obtained from the rats that had received zinc (2.0 mg/100 g) was blocked by cycloheximide (10(-6) M) or dipicolinate (10(-3) M), a chelator of zinc. These results suggest that bone protein synthesis declines with age, and that this decline may be based partly on the decrease in bone cellular zinc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Biochemistry and Toxicology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ozaki
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D003513:Cycloheximide / Q000494:pharmacology; D005269:Femur / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007930:Leucine / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010848:Picolinic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014316:Tritium; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D010848:Picolinic Acids; D014316:Tritium; D003513:Cycloheximide; D007930:Leucine; D015032:Zinc; C004860:dipicolinic acid