title: The Effects of Aging on Indices of Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in the Female Fischer 344/Nnia X Brown Norway/BiNia Rat Heart.
abstract: Oxidative-nitrosative stress may play a role in age-associated cardiovascular disease as implied by recent studies.However, limited research has been conducted using aged female rodent models. In this study, we examined hearts obtained from 6-, 26-, and 30-month old female Fischer 344/Nnia x Brown Norway/BiNia (F344xBN) rats in order to examine how aging affects levels of cardiac oxidative-nitrosative stress and apoptosis. Oxidative (superoxide anion and 4-HNE) and nitrosative (protein nitrosylation) stress markers were increased 180 ± 17 %, 110 ± 3 %, and 14 ± 2 %, respectively in 30-month hearts compared to the hearts of 6-month female rats. Coincident with these changes in oxidative-nitrosative stress, aging was also found to be associated with increases in the number of Tdt-mediated dUTP nick labeling (TUNEL)-positive cardiomyocytes, alterations in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and elevated cleavage of caspase-3. Regression analysis demonstrates significant correlation in the age-associated changes markers of oxidative-nitrosative stress with changes in apoptotic signaling. The findings from this descriptive study imply that age-associated increases in mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis may be associated with the increase in oxidative-nitrosative stress in the aging F344xBN female heart.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Toxicology, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, USA ; Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems, Marshall University, Huntington WV, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fannin
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington WV, USA ; Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems, Marshall University, Huntington WV, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.affiliation: Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems, Marshall University, Huntington WV, USA.
authors.forename: Srininvas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thulluri
authors.affiliation: Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems, Marshall University, Huntington WV, USA.
authors.forename: Ravi Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Arvapalli
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA.
authors.forename: Paulette
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wehner
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Toxicology, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall University, USA ; Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems, Marshall University, Huntington WV, USA ; Department of Pharmaceutical Science Research, School of Pharmacy, Marshall University, Huntington WV, USA.
authors.forename: Eric R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Blough
keywords: Aging; Female; Heart; ROS.