The Effects of Aging on Indices of Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in the Female Fischer 344/Nnia X Brown Norway/BiNia Rat Heart

Oxidative-nitrosative stress may play a role in age-associated cardiovascular disease as implied by recent studies.However, limited research has been conducted using aged female rodent models. In this study, we examined hearts obtained from 6-, 26-, and 30-month old female Fischer 344/Nnia x Brown Norway/BiNia (F344xBN) rats in order to examine how aging affects levels of cardiac oxidative-nitrosative stress and apoptosis. Oxidative (superoxide anion and 4-HNE) and nitrosative (protein nitrosylation) stress markers were increased 180 ± 17 %, 110 ± 3 %, and 14 ± 2 %, respectively in 30-month hearts compared to the hearts of 6-month female rats. Coincident with these changes in oxidative-nitrosative stress, aging was also found to be associated with increases in the number of Tdt-mediated dUTP nick labeling (TUNEL)-positive cardiomyocytes, alterations in the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and elevated cleavage of caspase-3. Regression analysis demonstrates significant correlation in the age-associated changes markers of oxidative–nitrosative stress with changes in apoptotic signaling. The findings from this descriptive study imply that age-associated increases in mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis may be associated with the increase in oxidative-nitrosative stress in the aging F344xBN female heart.