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Age‐Associated Changes of Rat Brain Neuronal and Astroglial Poly(ADP‐Ribose) Polymerase Activity
Author(s) -
Messripour Manoucher,
Weltin Denis,
Rastegar Ali,
Ciesielski Lucien,
Kopp Patrick,
Chabert Magali,
Mandel Paul
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-4159.1994.62020502.x
Subject(s) - poly adp ribose polymerase , polymerase , biology , ribose , dna , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , dna polymerase , enzyme
Nuclear poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase levels as well as the DNA strand break levels of whole‐brain neuronal and astroglial cells were investigated. Three‐ and 30‐month‐old rats were used. Low‐molecular‐weight neurofilaments and glutamine synthetase served as neuronal and astroglial markers, respectively. A large increase in the poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase activity was observed in the neurons (threefold) and astrocytes (3.7‐fold) derived from 30‐month‐old rats. Similarly, the amount of poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase, evaluated per milligram of DNA, increased ∼3.5‐fold in neurons and 3.9‐fold in astrocytes prepared from 30‐month‐old rats. Whether the increase in the poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase activity was due to an enhanced rate of DNA strand break was investigated by determining the rate of DNA unwinding. A significant increase in DNA unwinding rate was detected in the neurons (2.7‐fold), although a lower increase was observed in the astroglia (1.3‐fold) of aged animals.