Abstract: Michelle ADAMS




Synaptic Proteins And Their Relationship To Brain Aging In Male and Female Zebrafish (Danio rerio)


Michelle Adams (1, 2, 3), Ayca Arslan-Ergul (1, 4), Bahriye Erkaya (4), Ferda Altaytas (4) Dilara Halim (4), Elif Karoglu (4), Ozlen Konu (1, 3, 4)

(1) BilGen Genetics and Biotechnology Center, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey,
(2) Department of Psychology, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey,
(3)I nterdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey,
(4) Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey


Evidence suggests that the brain is sexually dimorphic in zebrafish (Danio rerio). However, whether the zebrafish brain ages in a sexually dimorphic manner is not well-established and just beginning to be examined. The aim of the current study was to determine the pattern of age-related changes of three key synaptic proteins associated with excitatory and inhibitory synapses, pre-synaptic vesicle protein, synaptophysin (SYN), post-synaptic density-95 (PSD95) protein, and gephyrin (GEP) protein. We hypothesized that these levels would likely decline but the pattern of aging would be different in male and female zebrafish. Whole brain tissues were isolated from young (6-8 months), middle-aged (12-14 months) and old (27-30 months) male and female zebrafish (AB strain). Animals were maintained and raised in standard conditions in the zebrafish facility at Bilkent University, BilGen Genetics and Biotechnology Center, Ankara, Turkey. The extracted brain tissue was homogenized in RIPA buffer and subjected to Western Blot analysis to determine differences in the relative protein expression levels. Our results demonstrated that there was a significant decline in SYN protein levels with age, as well as a significant age by gender interaction. We found that females tend to preserve SYP levels in old age, whereas in males SYP levels are reduced in old age. For GEP, we observed a significant main effect of gender with females having more GEP than males. Finally, for PSD-95, we found no significant main effect of age or gender but there was a significant age by gender interaction. Our data revealed that in males PSD-95 levels decrease with age but in females PSD-95 levels are preserved in old age. Thus, our data suggest that selected synaptic protein levels decline with age and might be differentially expressed according to gender. In addition, the state of these protein levels during aging depends on the sex of the animal. Therefore, both genders should be examined to determine whether these alterations in synaptic proteins affect synaptic function, especially across lifespan.




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