Objective: To reveal the expression trends of HIF-1alpha in hippocampus of different age rats, investigate the role of HIF-1alpha in the aging process of nervous system.
Methods: The cerebral tissues was collectd from rats of different age, including 3, 18, 24, 36 months old. There were 6 rats in each age group. The expressions of nissl body and HIF-1alpha in different part of hippocampus were observed by nissl staining and immunohistochemical technique.
Results: (1) With the increase of rat age, nerve cells appeared to be bigger and to arrange sparsely, while the nissl body decreased; (2) The positive HIF-1alpha staining cells in CA1, CA3 region of hippocampus increased along with the increase of rat age. The difference between any two age groups showed statistical significance (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The function of protein synthesis weakened in nerve cells but the expression of HIF-1alpha increased with the age increasing, which may play an important role in aging of nervous system.