title: Age-related gene expression change of GABAergic system in visual cortex of rhesus macaque.
abstract: Degradation of visual function is a common phenomenon during aging and likely mediated by change in the impaired central visual pathway. Treatment with GABA or its agonist could recover the ability of visual neurons in the primary visual cortex of senescent macaques. However, little is known about how GABAergic system change is related to the aged degradation of visual function in nonhuman primate. With the use of quantitative PCR method, we measured the expression change of 24 GABA related genes in the primary visual cortex (Brodmann's 17) of different age groups. In this study, both of mRNA and protein of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) were measured by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Results revealed that the level of GAD65 message was not significantly altered, but the proteins were significantly decreased in the aged monkey. As GAD65 plays an important role in GABA synthesis, the down-regulation of GAD65 protein was likely the key factor leading to the observed GABA reduction in the primary visual cortex of the aged macaques. In addition, 7 of 14 GABA receptor genes were up-regulated and one GABA receptor gene was significantly reduced during aging process even after Banjamini correction for multiple comparisons (P<0.05). These results suggested that the dysregulation of GAD65 protein might contribute to some age-related neural visual dysfunctions and most of GABA receptor genes induce a clear indication of compensatory effect for the reduced GABA release in the healthy aged monkey cortex.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Laboratory of Tropical Veterinary Medicine and Vector Biology, College of Agriculture, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
authors.forename: Chenghong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Biological Resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Laboratory of Tropical Veterinary Medicine and Vector Biology, College of Agriculture, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of the Primate Model for Brain Diseases and Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of the Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming 650223, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors.forename: Yuanye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China. Electronic address: sub@mail.kiz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018079:Receptors, GABA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D021122:Protein Subunits; D018079:Receptors, GABA; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase
keywords: Aging; Compensatory; GABA; Gene expression; Vision