Crutcher, K. A. and Weingartner, J. (1991). Hippocampal NGF levels are not reduced in the aged Fischer 344 rat. Neurobiology of Aging,12(5):449-54.
Abstract
The sympathetic sprouting response that occurs in the rat
hippocampal formation following septal denervation is reduced in
aged rats. Since considerable evidence implicates NGF-like activity
in eliciting the sprouting, the simplest explanation for the
age-related decline in sympathetic sprouting is a reduction in
hippocampal NGF levels. In the present study, hippocampal NGF levels were measured using a 2-site ELISA in four different age groups of
Fischer 344 rats. There was no decline in NGF levels with age, nor
did we find any differences between male and female rats. This
contradicts an earlier report in which a 40% reduction in
hippocampal NGF protein levels was found in aged rats. Possible
reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. The present results do
not support the hypothesis that the age-related decline in
sympathetic sprouting is due to a reduction in total hippocampal NGF levels.
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