Aging alters the molecular dynamics of synapses in a sexually dimorphic pattern in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Date
2017-06
Advisor
Instructor
Source Title
Neurobiology of Aging
Print ISSN
0197-4580
Electronic ISSN
Publisher
Elsevier
Volume
54
Issue
Pages
10 - 21
Language
English
Type
Article
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract

The zebrafish has become a popular model for studying normal brain aging due to its large fecundity, conserved genome, and available genetic tools; but little data exists about neurobiological age-related alterations. The current study tested the hypothesis of an association between brain aging and synaptic protein loss across males and females. Western blot analysis of synaptophysin (SYP), a presynaptic vesicle protein, and postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) and gephyrin (GEP), excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic receptor-clustering proteins, respectively, was performed in young, middle-aged, and old male and female zebrafish (Danio rerio) brains. Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that PSD-95 significantly increased in aged females and SYP significantly decreased in males, but GEP was stable. Thus, these key synaptic proteins vary across age in a sexually dimorphic manner, which has been observed in other species, and these consequences may represent selective vulnerabilities for aged males and females. These data expand our knowledge of normal aging in zebrafish, as well as further establish this model as an appropriate one for examining human brain aging.

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Other identifiers
Book Title
Keywords
Aging, Excitatory synapses, Gender, Inhibitory synapses, Synaptic proteins, Zebrafish, Beta tubulin, Gephyrin, Postsynaptic density protein 95, Synaptophysin, Carrier protein, Gephyrin, Membrane protein, SAP90/PSD95 associated protein, synaptophysin, Adult, Aged, Animal tissue, Brain level, Controlled study, Juvenile animal, Nonhuman, Protein analysis, Protein depletion, Protein expression, Protein function, Protein localization, Sequence homology, Sex difference, Synaptic transmission, Western blotting, Zebra fish, Analysis of variance, Animal, Animal model, Brain, Genetics, Human, Metabolism, Physiology, Sexual characteristics, Synapse, Brain, Carrier Proteins, SAP90-PSD95 Associated Proteins, Sex Characteristics, Synapses, Synaptophysin
Citation
Published Version (Please cite this version)