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Heterochronic Parabiosis: Old Blood Induces Changes in Mitochondrial Structure and Function of Young Mice
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021 Feb 25;76(3):434-439. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glaa299.
Jenny L Gonzalez-Armenta 1 2 3, Ning Li 4, Rae-Ling Lee 2 3, Baisong Lu 5, Anthony J A Molina 6
Abstract:
...In this study, we used heterochronic parabiosis to test the hypothesis that circulating factors mediate mitochondrial bioenergetic decline, a well-established biological hallmark of aging. We examined mitochondrial morphology, expression of mitochondrial complexes, and mitochondrial respiration from skeletal muscle of mice connected as heterochronic pairs, as well as young and old isochronic controls. Our results indicate that young heterochronic mice had significantly lower total mitochondrial content and on average had significantly smaller mitochondria compared to young isochronic controls. Expression of complex IV followed a similar pattern: young heterochronic mice had a trend for lower expression compared to young isochronic controls. Additionally, respirometric analyses indicate that young heterochronic mice had significantly lower complex I, complex I + II, and maximal mitochondrial respiration and a trend for lower complex II-driven respiration compared to young isochronic controls. Interestingly, we did not observe significant improvements in old heterochronic mice compared to old isochronic controls, demonstrating the profound deleterious effects of circulating factors from old mice on mitochondrial structure and function. We also found no significant differences between the young and old heterochronic mice, demonstrating that circulating factors can be a driver of age-related differences in mitochondrial structure and function.
PMID: 33377482
Free Full-Text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8177798/
Tags: mice, mitochondria, parabiosis