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Updated: May 26, 2026
Isolation of Intermediate Filament Proteins from Multiple Mouse Tissues to Study Aging-associated Post-translational Modifications
Published on: May 18, 2017
[Effect of melatonin on glial fibrillary acidic protein, nuclear factor-kB and synaptophysin expressions in aging
Li Zhou1, Qing-ren Zeng, Jun Zhou
1Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Objective:
To study the effect of melatonin on the expressions of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB p65) and synaptophysin in mice of different ages.
Methods:
Twenty young male B6C3F1 mice (5.5 months) and 20 aged mice (26 months) were both divided into control and melatonin treatment (daily dose of 0.04 mg/kg) groups. After 2.5 months of treatment, the brain tissues of the mice were collected to examine the expressions of GFAP, NF-κB and SYN by immunohistochemistry.
Results:
In the control groups, the expression of NF-κB p65 in the brain tissue increased with age, whereas a reverse change was found in melatonin-treated aged rats (P<0.05). Synaptophysin expression also decreased with age, but melatonin treatment significantly enhanced its expression in aged mice (P<0.05). GFAP expression in the brain tissue increased with age regardless of melatonin treatment (P>0.05).
Conclusion:
GFAP expression is almost not affected by melatonin treatment in aged mice. Melatonin can reduce the expression levels of NF-κB p65 and synaptophysin in the brain tissue to protect the brain and slow down the aging process.
