Transcription supports age-related increases of GFAP gene expression in the male rat brain

During aging, rodent and human brains show progressive increases in the levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) mRNA and protein. The role of transcription was investigated by in situ hybridization, using an intron-containing cRNA probe as a measure of primary GFAP transcripts. We found parallel age-related increases in GFAP intron RNA in the hippocampus, internal capsule, and corpus callosum of 3 versus 24 month old male F344 rats. We conclude that increased transcription supports the age-related increase of GFAP mRNA and protein. GFAP is a unique example of a gene that shows increased expression during aging in contrast to the decreased transcription of certain genes reported in non-neural tissues.