[Effect of aging on interleukin 3 and its mRNA levels expression in mouse lymphocytes]

In this study, we determined IL-3 and its mRNA levels in T cells from C57BL/6J mice of different age groups (5, 12, 23 and 37 months). Spleen lymphocytes were stimulated with ConA and IL-3 activity was assayed by their ability to support the growth of an IL-3 dependent cell line, FDCP-1. IL-3 mRNA was determined by cytoplasmic dot-blot hybridization. mRNA reached maximum levels after 20 h of incubation with ConA in all 4 groups. The IL-3 activity and mRNA level in the 37 month age group showed 79.3% and 74% decreases respectively in comparison with the 5 month age group. The IL-2 and IL-3 mRNA levels also showed a parallel decline with age.