Measurement of the 4,834-bp mitochondrial DNA deletion level in aging rat liver and brain subjected or not to caloric restriction diet

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2004 Jun:1019:269-73. doi: 10.1196/annals.1297.045.

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated an age-related accumulation of the amount of a specific 4834-bp mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletion in different tissues of rat (liver, brain, and skeletal muscle). We investigated the influence of a caloric restriction diet (CR) on a selected age-associated marker of mtDNA damage, as the 4834-bp deletion, using quantitative real-time PCR. The mtDNA deleted level has been determined with respect to the mitochondrial D-loop level, using specific primers and TaqMan probes for each target. In liver we found an age-related increase of the deletion level (twofold) that was reversed and brought back to the adult level by a CR diet. On the contrary, in the brain the age-related increase of the deletion level (eightfold) was not affected by CR at all. The different effect of the CR on the deletion level in liver and brain might be a further element supporting the tissue-specificity of the aging process.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Aging*
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Brain / metabolism*
  • Brain / pathology
  • Caloric Restriction*
  • DNA Damage*
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics*
  • Gene Deletion*
  • Liver / metabolism*
  • Mitochondria / pathology
  • Muscle, Skeletal / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial