Abstract
Aging is a multifactorial process, which is considered as a decline over time. It is increasingly clear that there is a gender difference in aging and in the prevalence of age-related diseases as well. We aimed to examine the effects of the aging process in the colonic tissue of female Wistar rats aged 10 weeks (young) and 13 months (middle-aged) at an early stage, according to three main symptoms associated with aging: a decrease in the efficacy of the proteasome and muscle function and an increase in oxidative stress. The aging process was found to cause a significant decrease in ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase ligase (UCHL-1) and a significant increase in 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT), total glutathione (GSH), calcium (Ca2+), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in middle-aged animals. In summary, it is suggested that the reduced activity of the proteasomal degradation system may be the result of the diminished expression of the UCHL-1 enzyme and the decreased levels of ubiquitin; furthermore, we found some key targets which may help to better understand the fundamental aging process.
Highlights
Aging is a multifactorial phenomenon, which is considered as a general decline over time that occurs heterogeneously in numerous biochemical pathways and multiple organ systems [1, 2]
Aging leads to a decrease in ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase ligase-1 (UCHL-1) expression in female middle-aged vs. young rat colon
We found decreased ubiquitin levels in the colon of the middle-aged group, but this was not significant compared to the young group (Fig. 1B)
Summary
Aging is a multifactorial phenomenon, which is considered as a general decline over time that occurs heterogeneously in numerous biochemical pathways and multiple organ systems [1, 2]. It is suggested that a better understanding of the aging process may be the key for the alleviation of age-associated pathologies [1]. Aging has an impact on this organ system, which manifests in constipation and delayed transit time in the elderly. A plethora of evidence suggests that key signs of the aging process, such as loss of neurons in the gut, increase in the amount of aggregated proteins, elevation in oxidative stress and decline of antioxidant pathways, are responsible for these impairments [8]
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