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Calcium and calmodulin changes with ageing in C57BL/6J mice
H R Massie1, V R Aiello, L K DeWolfe
1Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, Utica, N.Y.
Gerontology
|January 1, 1989
Summary
Aging significantly alters calcium levels in mouse organs, with bone calcium decreasing, potentially indicating osteoporosis. However, age-related changes in calcium homeostasis do not consistently correlate with calmodulin levels.
Area of Science:
- Biogerontology
- Molecular Biology
- Physiology
Background:
- Calcium homeostasis is crucial for cellular function and is known to change with age.
- Calmodulin is a calcium-binding protein that plays a role in calcium signaling.
- Understanding age-related changes in calcium and calmodulin is important for studying aging processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the age-related changes in total calcium and calmodulin concentrations in various tissues of male C57BL/6J mice.
- To determine if changes in calcium homeostasis correlate with calmodulin concentration changes during aging.
Main Methods:
- Male C57BL/6J mice aged 50 to 1186 days were utilized.
- Total calcium concentrations were measured in kidney, brain, heart, lung, liver, and femur.
- Calmodulin concentrations were measured in the same tissues.
Main Results:
- Kidney calcium increased by 260%, brain by 189%, heart by 173.5%, lung by 106.5%, and liver by 78.5% with age.
- Femur calcium showed a decline of 28.2% with age.
- Calmodulin levels in liver increased with age, while kidney and liver calmodulin initially decreased before increasing.
- Brain, lung, and heart calmodulin concentrations remained relatively stable.
Conclusions:
- Age-related changes in calcium homeostasis are not consistently reflected in calmodulin concentration changes.
- The observed decline in bone calcium supports the occurrence of osteoporosis in aging C57 mice.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate the relationship between calcium, calmodulin, and aging across different tissues.