Permeability function related to cerebral microvessel enzymes during ageing in rats

Cerebral microvessels from rats were prepared and characterized by their enrichment of specific markers, namely alkaline phosphatase (AP) and tau-glutamyl transpeptidase (tau-GT). Further, it was observed that AP and tau-GT registered marked increase in aged rats. On the contrary, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity decreased with the increasing age. Monoamine oxidase A activity in the microvessels decreased with age whereas MAO-B moved in the reverse direction. No noticeable change was seen in acetyl-cholinesterase activity with increasing age of rats.