Adrenomedullary Catecholaminergic Activity Increases with Age in Male Laboratory Rodents

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Abstract
In this report, we have examined the effects of aging on adrenomedullary catecholaminergic activity by evaluating the levels of activity of adrenal dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH) in three species of laboratory rodents. Groups of male Fischer 344 rats (3-, 18-, and 28-month-old), Chinese hamsters (4-and 30-monthold), and Mongolian gerbils (3-and 26-month-old) were killed, and their adrenal DBH activities were measured by a sensitive radioenzymatic method. The results indicated that adrenomedullary DBH activities showed a progressive age-related increase in all three species investigated. Specifically, (a) adrenal DBH activity in the 18-month-old rats was significantly (p < .001) higher than that of 3-month-old rats, and the enzyme activity in the 28-month-old rats was significantly (p < .001) higher than that of the 18-month-old rats; (b) adrenal DBH activity in the 30-month-old hamsters showed a significant (p < .001) increase over that found in the 4-month-old hamsters; and (c) DBH activity in the 26-month-old gerbils was significantly (p < .05) higher than that noted in 3-month-old gerbils. These results suggest that an age-related increase in adrenal DBH activity may, at least in part, contribute to increased levels of circulating catecholamines.

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