title: Impairment of intracellular antiviral defense with age: age-dependent changes in expression of interferon-induced and double-stranded RNA-activated 2-5A synthetase in rat.
abstract: The 2',5'-oligoadenylate (2-5A) system is involved in the defense of mammalian cells against virus infection. In a previous study [25], we demonstrated that the activities of the enzymes which synthesize and degrade 2-5A [2-5A synthetase (2-5OAS) and 2',3'-exoribonuclease] and of the enzyme that is activated by 2-5A (ribonuclease L) change during aging and development in different tissues of rat. The age-dependent decrease in 2-5OAS activity and increase in 2-5A nuclease activity results in a decrease in the cellular 2-5A content, suggesting that the efficiency of the antiviral 2-5A system is impaired in aged rats. Here we determined the age-dependent changes in the level of mRNA coding for the class I isoenzyme of 2-5OAS (M(r) 40-46 kDa) in rat liver and brain using a cDNA which was recently cloned from rat hippocampus. We found that the decrease in 2-5OAS activity is accompanied by a decrease in the level of 2-5OAS mRNA; in old animals (32-33 months old), the amount of 2-5OAS mRNA was reduced to 20-30% compared to young adult (2-3 months old) (100%) and middle-aged adult animals (12 months old) (110-120%). In addition, Western-blotting experiments revealed that the amount of class I 2-5OAS capable of binding to its activator, poly(I).poly(C), is also diminished in the livers and brains of old rats compared to those of young adult and middle-aged adult animals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn, Estonia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuusksalu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Truve
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aaspollu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kelve
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Scheffer
authors.forename: W E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Schröder
mesh_terms: D015088:2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology; D005260:Female; D007372:Interferons / Q000235:genetics; D008099:Liver / Q000201:enzymology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D007372:Interferons; D011494:Protein Kinases; D015088:2',5'-Oligoadenylate Synthetase