title: Effect of aging and acetyl-L-carnitine on energetic and cholinergic metabolism in rat brain regions.
abstract: The effect of aging and subchronic treatment with acetyl-L-carnitine (50 mg/kg per day) was studied on mitochondrial bioenergetics and cholinergic metabolism in non-synaptic mitochondria and synaptosomes isolated from cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum of rats aged 4, 11 and 18 months. Respiratory activity and cytochrome oxidase specific activity were unaffected by aging in non-synaptic mitochondria. In synaptosomes, pyruvate dehydrogenase, choline acetyltransferase and acetylcholinesterase specific activity remained unchanged, but the high-affinity choline uptake decreased in cerebral cortex and striatum of 18-month-old rats. Acetyl-L-carnitine treatment increased the high-affinity choline uptake in cerebral cortex of 18-month-old rats. The treatment caused also an increase in cytochrome oxidase activity in all the three cerebral regions and in choline uptake in the hippocampus, parameters that were not directly affected by aging processes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacology, University of Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Curti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dagani
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Galmozzi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marzatico
mesh_terms: D000108:Acetylcarnitine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002331:Carnitine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism*; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D008297:Male; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013574:Synaptosomes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011768:Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex; D000108:Acetylcarnitine; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D002794:Choline; D002331:Carnitine