Summary
To clarify the effect of aging on bone metabolism, alteration of the cellular zinc content and protein synthesis was examined in the femoral diaphysis of 3- and 30-week-old male rats. The cellular zinc content in bone tissue markedly decreased in 30-week-old compared to 3-week-old rats. When the bone tissue from older rats were cultured with [3H]leucine, incorporation of [3H]leucine into the acid-insoluble residues was less than for weanling rats. This decrease was partly restored by the oral administration of zinc sulfate (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg Zn/100 g body weight) to elderly rats for 3 days. An increase of in vitro [3H]leucine incorporation by bone tissues obtained from the rats that had received zinc (2.0 mg/100 g) was blocked by cycloheximide (10−6 M) or dipicolinate (10−3 M), a chelator of zinc. These results suggest that bone protein synthesis declines with age, and that this decline may be based partly on the decrease in bone cellular zinc.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Canalis E (1985) Effect of sodium vanadate on deoxyribonucleic acid and protein synthesis in cultured rat calvaria. Endocrinology 116: 855–862
DeLuca HF (1979) Vitamin D: metabolism and function. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 1–80
Fugita T, Okano K, Orimo H, Ohata M (1972) Age and fate of parathyroid hormone. J Gerontol 27: 25–27
Gray RW (1981) Effects of age and sex on the regulation of plasma 1,25(OH)2D3 by phosphorus in the rat. Calcif Tissue Int 33: 477–484
Ishida M, Bulos B, Takamoto S, Sacktor B (1987) Hydroxylation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 by renal mitochondria from rats of different age. Endocrinology 121: 443–448
Morimoto S, Onishi T, Okada Y, Kumahara Y (1979) Comparison of human calcitonin secretion after a 1-minute calcium infusion in young normal and elderly subjects. Endocrinol Jpn 26: 207–211
Pocker Y, Fong CTO (1980) Kinetics of inactivation of erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase by sodium 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate. Biochemistry 19: 2045–2050
Rognstad R (1984) Inhibition of glycogen synthesis in rat hepatocytes by medium Zn2+. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 122: 726–733
Wiske PS, Epstein S, Bell NH, Queener SF, Edmondson J, Johnston CC (1979) Increases in immunoreactive parathyroid hormone with age. N Engl J Med 300: 1419–1421
Yamaguchi M, Yamaguchi R (1986) Action of zinc on bone metabolism in rats: increases in alkaline phosphatase activity and DNA content. Biochem Pharmacol 35: 773–777
Yamaguchi M, Oishi H, Suketa Y (1987) Stimulatory effect of zinc on bone formation in tissue culture. Biochem Pharmacol 36: 4007–4012
Yamaguchi M, Oishi H, Suketa Y (1988) Zinc stimulation of bone protein synthesis in tissue culture: activation of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase. Biochem Pharmacol 37: 4075–4080
Yamaguchi M, Ozaki K, Suketa Y (1989) Alteration in bone metabolism with increasing age: effects of zinc and vitamin D3 in aged rats. J Pharmacobiodyn 12: 67–73
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yamaguchi, M., Ozaki, K. Aging affects cellular zinc and protein synthesis in the femoral diaphysis of rats. Res. Exp. Med. 190, 295–300 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000035
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000035