title: Decreased Pasteur effect in platelets of aged individuals.
abstract: We have investigated the mitochondrial energy state in human platelets of young (19-30 years old) and aged individuals (65-87 years old) exploiting the Pasteur effect, i.e. stimulation of lactate production by incubation of the purified platelets with the mitochondrial respiratory chain inhibitor, antimycin A. This assay allows the determination of mitochondrial function with respect to glycolysis, and the ratio of mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to glycolytic ATP. A significant increase of basal, non-stimulated lactate production and decrease of the stimulation by antimycin A were observed in the older individuals, suggesting that the impairment of oxidative phosphorylation detectable in post-mitotic tissues of aged individuals can be observed also in easily collectable blood cells.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biochimica G. Moruzzi, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 48, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Aurelio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merlo Pich
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Catani
authors.forename: G L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Sgarbi
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bovina
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Formiggini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parenti Castelli
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baum
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tura
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lenaz
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D000968:Antimycin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008297:Male; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid; D000968:Antimycin A; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D005947:Glucose