Regional study of acid hydrolases and lysosomal membrane properties in the normal human brain at various ages

Acid hydrolases and lysosomal membrane properties were studied at various ages in the normal human brain. In CSF and four brain regions, the inferior olive, the cerebellar cortex, the caudate nucleus and the frontal cortex were thus beta-galactosidase, beta-glucosidase, alpha-mannosidase, hexosaminidase and acid phosphatase biochemically quantitated at ages varying between 2 and 89 years of age. Also the membrane latency for acid phosphatase was studied in these regions. No major regional quantitative differences were found with regard to the enzymes studied. Their kinetic properties were also defined. There appeared to exist a regional and intra-areal variation in lysosomal membrane permeability. There was, however, no age related increase in total enzyme contents. The possibility significance of these findings are discussed with reference to the aging process.