title: Influences of aging and dietary restriction on red blood cell density profiles and antioxidant enzyme activities in rhesus monkeys.
abstract: Dietary restriction (DR) retards aging processes in rodents and other animals but its influence on aging in primates is unknown. In rats, the average density of red blood cells (RBCs) reportedly increases with RBC age and decreases with host age and RBC antioxidant enzyme activities fall with both types of aging. We determined RBC density profiles and antioxidant enzyme activities in four groups (n = 5) of male rhesus monkeys. The "Control" group (11-14 years) was fed a purified diet ad lib and the "DR" group (11-16 years) were fed 70% of the ad lib level for two years. "Young" (6-10 years) and "Old" (27-36 years) monkeys were fed a nonpurified diet ad lib. The average RBC size was least in the most dense fraction (F4) and internal structural complexity increased with RBC density based on flow cytometry analysis but these were not influenced by host age or DR. Catalase activity decreased with increasing density. In contrast to findings in rats, age and fraction differences in glutathione peroxidase activities were insignificant. DR did not influence enzyme activities. These data suggest that aging in rhesus monkeys influences RBC density profiles and antioxidant enzyme activities far less strikingly than has been reported in rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53706.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Roecker
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weindruch
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D002374:Catalase / Q000097:blood*; D002458:Cell Fractionation; D004038:Diet, Reducing; D004905:Erythrocyte Aging; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood*; D006400:Hematocrit; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D002374:Catalase; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase