Study of factors influencing the decreased HDL associated PON1 activity with aging

Paraoxonase (PON1) is principally complexed to HDL and is responsible, at least in part, for its antioxidant properties. PON1 activity decreases in several pathologies associated with atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the PON1 activity and factors influencing its activity as a function of age. One hundred and twenty nine healthy subjects aged between 22 and 89 years were recruited for the study. We found that serum PON1 activity significantly decreased with age (r=-0.38, p<0.0001) while its arylesterase activity as well as its concentration in the serum did not change significantly. HDL concentrations remained unchanged with age, however, Apo A1 concentration showed a slight negative but significant correlation with age (r=-0.19, p<0.027). Moreover, the total cholesterol concentration was positively and significantly correlated with age (r=0.40, p<0.001). Thus, our results suggest that the decrease in PON1 activity cannot be explained by the decrease in Apo A1 concentrations with age. HDL from elderly subjects was more susceptible to oxidation than HDL from young subjects measured by higher lipid peroxidation rate. Thus, the decrease in PON1 activity may contribute to this increased susceptibility of HDL to oxidation with aging. Altogether our results suggest that the decrease in PON1 activity may be related to the development of oxidative stress conditions with aging and the increased HDL susceptibility to oxidation in elderly subjects.