Histone deacetylase activity is altered in brain areas from aged rats

It has been described that histone acetylation levels are decreased in several cellular and in vivo neurodegeneration models as well as in normal brain aging, although the impact of the aging process on histone deacetylases (HDAC) activity yet remains poorly understood. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the effect of the aging process on HDAC activity in hippocampi and frontal cortices from 3 and 18-months-old Wistar rats. The animals were decapitated at different times of day, in the early morning and in afternoon. HDAC activity was increased in hippocampus from the aged group. Besides, the hippocampal HDAC activity was also significantly increased in early morning. A significant interaction between age and time of the day was observed in frontal cortices, given that the HDAC activity was higher in early morning in the aged group. These data support the hypothesis that the aging-related dysfunction may be related, at least in part, to acetylation imbalance through HDAC activity in rat brain.