title: Influences of aging and dietary restriction on serum thymosin alpha 1 levels in mice.
abstract: Influences of age (3 wk, 2, 7, 19, or 26 mo), long-term dietary restriction (DR) started at 3 wk of age, and acute fasting state on serum thymosin alpha 1 (T alpha 1) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in female mice from a long-lived strain. The average T alpha 1 level was highest (approximately 60 ng/ml) at 3 wk and fell sharply such that 2 mo old mice fed either normal (N, approximately 80% of ad libitum intake) or restricted (R, approximately 50% of ad libitum intake) diets averaged approximately 20 ng/ml. Any age-related declines after 2 mo of age were mild and statistically significant only for R mice bled 2-4 h (but not 24-48 h) post-feeding. T alpha 1 levels were lower in group R than in group N mice in one experiment at 19 mo of age but not in another at 26 mo. The decline with age in serum T alpha 1 levels is mainly a very early life event for mice of this hybrid strain and appears uninfluenced by DR. T alpha 1 levels are variably reduced by DR later in life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, UCLA School of Medicine.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weindruch
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Naylor
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Walford
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D005215:Fasting; D005260:Female; D008136:Longevity; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012107:Research Design; D000077596:Thymalfasin; D013947:Thymosin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D013947:Thymosin; D000077596:Thymalfasin