Comparison of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase and melatonin receptor type 1B immunoreactivity between young adult and aged canine spinal cord.
10.4142/jvs.2014.15.3.335
- Author:
Ji Hyeon AHN
1
;
Joon Ha PARK
;
In Hye KIM
;
Jae Chul LEE
;
Bing Chun YAN
;
Min Sik YONG
;
Choong Hyun LEE
;
Jung Hoon CHOI
;
Ki Yeon YOO
;
In Koo HWANG
;
Seung Myung MOON
;
Hyung Cheul SHIN
;
Moo Ho WON
Author Information
1. Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea. hcshin@hallym.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Comparative Study ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords:
aging;
beagle dog;
melatonin receptor;
spinal gray matter;
spinal neurons
- MeSH:
Age Factors;
Aging/physiology;
Animals;
Arylalkylamine N-Acetyltransferase/*analysis/immunology/physiology;
Blotting, Western;
Dogs;
Fluorescent Antibody Technique;
Male;
Receptor, Melatonin, MT2/*analysis/immunology/physiology;
Spinal Cord/*chemistry/immunology/physiology
- From:Journal of Veterinary Science
2014;15(3):335-342
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Melatonin affects diverse physiological functions through its receptor and plays an important role in the central nervous system. In the present study, we compared immunoreactivity patterns of arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), an enzyme essential for melatonin synthesis, and melatonin receptor type 1B (MT2) in the spinal cord of young adult (2~3 years) and aged (10~12 years) beagle dogs using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. AANAT-specific immunoreactivity was observed in the nuclei of spinal neurons, and was significantly increased in aged dog spinal neurons compared to young adult spinal neurons. MT2-specific immunoreactivity was found in the cytoplasm of spinal neurons, and was predominantly increased in the margin of the neuron cytoplasm in aged spinal cord compared to that in the young adult dogs. These increased levels of AANAT and MT2 immunoreactivity in aged spinal cord might be a feature of normal aging and associated with a feedback mechanism that compensates for decreased production of melatonin during aging.
