The development of age-related deficits in several presynaptic processes associated with brain [3H]acetylcholine...

Isolated nerve terminals were prepared from the neocortices and striate cortices of Fischer 344 rats from 6 to 26 months of age and then assayed for release of newly synthesized [3H]acetylcholine (ACh) triggered by secretagogues with different mechanisms of action: 35 mM K+, 10 microM veratridine and 5 microM A23187. Secretagogue-induced release of newly synthesized [3H]ACh decreased with age in both brain regions, with reductions in A23187-induced release paralleling those seen with depolarizing agents. This observation was consistent with the hypothesis that aging attenuates the release-triggering ability of calcium ions coincident with or before it affects voltage-sensitive calcium influx. In neocortex, phorbol-stimulated translocation of protein kinase C (PKC) activity was attenuated in isolated nerve terminals concomitantly with A23187-induced release deficits. These results suggest that one of the earliest deficits in the ACh-release process may involve intracellular calcium potency, which may be associated with the onset of functional PKC deficits. Both brain regions also displayed gradual, age-related reductions in [3H]ACh synthesis, but this effect was more pronounced in the striatum. Choline acetyltransferase (CAT) activity decreased only in the striatum with aging.