Abstract
Molecular synaptic aging perturbs neurotransmission and decreases the potential for neuroplasticity. The direction and degree of changes observed in aging are often region or cell specific, hampering the generalization of age-related effects. Using real-time PCR and Western blot analyses, we investigated age-related changes in several presynaptic markers (Vglut1, Vglut2, Gad65, Gad67, Vgat, synaptophysin) involved in the initial steps of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission, in several cortical regions, in young (3-4 months old), middle-aged (1 year old), and old (2 years old) mice. We found age-related changes mainly in protein levels while, apart from the occipital cortex, virtually no significant changes in mRNA levels were detected, which suggests that aging acts on the investigated markers mainly through post-transcriptional mechanisms depending on the brain region. Principal component analysis (PCA) of protein data revealed that each brain region possessed a type of "biochemical distinctiveness" (each analyzed brain region was best characterized by higher variability level of a particular synaptic marker) that was lost with age. Analysis of glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in aging suggested that mechanisms keeping an overall balance between the two amino acids in the brain are weakened in the hippocampus. Our results unravel the differences in mRNA/protein interactions in the aging brain.