ISSN 2149-2263 | E-ISSN 2149-2271
The Anatolian Journal of Cardiology
Investigation of the effects of aging on the expression of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 4 protein in heart tissue [Anatol J Cardiol]
Anatol J Cardiol. 2017; 17(1): 18-23 | DOI: 10.14744/AnatolJCardiol.2016.7033

Investigation of the effects of aging on the expression of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 4 protein in heart tissue

Hikmet Bıçakçı1, Mustafa Sarsılmaz1, Seda Ocaklı2, Murat Uysal3, Hilal Irmak Sapmaz3, Tolgahan Acar1, İsmet Demirtaş1, Rauf Açıkgöz1
1Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Şifa University; İzmir-Turkey
2Departments of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziosmanpaşa University; Tokat-Turkey
3Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Gaziosmanpaşa University; Tokat-Turkey

Objective: Aquaporin (AQP) 1 and AQP 4 are expressed in human heart and several studies have been focused on these two aquaporins. For this purpose, the present study is aimed to research the effects of aging on AQP 1 and AQP 4 in heart tissue.
Methods: In this study, 14 Balb/C type white mice were used. Animals were divided into two equal groups. Group I consisted of 2-month-old young animals (n=7), and group II consisted of 18-month-old animals (n=7). To determine the AQP1 and AQP4 expression in the myocardium, the heart tissue was removed to perform western blotting and immunohistochemical and histopathological evaluations.
Results: Muscle fibers of the heart in aged animals were more irregular and loosely organized in hematoxylin–eosin (H&E) stained sections. H- score analysis revealed that AQP1 and AQP4 immunoreactivity significantly increased in heart tissues of old mice compared with those of young mice (p<0.001). In addition, AQP1 and AQP4 protein expressions in the tissues of old animals were increased significantly according to western blot analysis (p=0.018 and p<0.001 for AQP1 and AQP4, respectively).
Conclusion: Increased AQP1 and AQP4 levels in the heart tissue may be correlated with the maintenance of water and electrolytes balance, which decreases with aging. In this context, it might be the result of a compensatory response to decreased AQP4 functions. In addition, this increase with aging as demonstrated in our study might be one of the factors that increases the tendency of ischemia in elder people. (Anatol J Cardiol 2017; 17: 18-23)

Keywords: mouse, heart, aging, aquaporin 1, aquaporin 4

Hikmet Bıçakçı, Mustafa Sarsılmaz, Seda Ocaklı, Murat Uysal, Hilal Irmak Sapmaz, Tolgahan Acar, İsmet Demirtaş, Rauf Açıkgöz. Investigation of the effects of aging on the expression of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 4 protein in heart tissue. Anatol J Cardiol. 2017; 17(1): 18-23

Corresponding Author: Hikmet Bıçakçı, Türkiye
Manuscript Language: English


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Journal Citation Indicator: 0.18
CiteScore: 1.1
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