title: Age-related decline of myelin proteins is highly correlated with activation of astrocytes and microglia in the rat CNS.
abstract: It has been shown that aging can greatly influence the integrity and ultrastructure of white matter and the myelin sheath; however, studies regarding the effects of aging on the expression of myelin proteins are still limited. In the present study, immunohistochemical mapping was used to investigate the overall expression of myelin basic protein (Mbp) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (Mog) in the central nervous system (CNS) of rats in postnatal months 2, 5, 18 and 26. Astrocyte and microglia activation was also detected by glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) or ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) staining and western blotting. A significant decline of Mbp and Mog was identified as a universal alteration in the CNS of aged rats. Aging also induced significant astrocyte and microglial activation. Correlation analysis indicated a negative correlation between the reduction of age‑related myelin proteins and glial activation in aging. This correlation of myelin breakdown and glial activation in aging may reveal new evidence in connecting the inflammation and myelin breakdown mechanism of age‑related neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710038, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Jiu-Cong
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D017628:Microglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D009185:Myelin Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: C112986:AIF1 protein, human; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein; D009185:Myelin Proteins