Goya R G, Naylor P H, Goldstein A L, Meites J
Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing.
Exp Gerontol. 1990;25(2):149-57. doi: 10.1016/0531-5565(90)90046-5.
It is well established that during early life the thymus gland and the neuroendocrine system influence each other's maturation. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence indicating that the immune and neuroendocrine systems also function as a bidirectional network during adult life. In order to assess possible changes in the thymic-neuroendocrine network during aging, we undertook to measure and correlate the circulating levels of several neuroendocrine and thymic hormones in young (3 month) and old (26 month) male Sprague-Dawley rats. Sequential plasma samples were obtained from chronically cannulated, nonstressed animals every 30 min for 5 h. Two days later rats were killed between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and trunk serum was obtained. All hormones were measured by radioimmunoassay. Growth hormone (GH), prolactin (PRL), thyrotropin (TSH) and corticosterone were measured in plasma, whereas thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), thymosin alpha 1 (T alpha 1) and thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4) were determined in trunk serum. The circulating levels of T3, PRL, corticosterone and T beta 4 did not show significant differences between young and old rats, whereas GH, T4, T alpha 1, and thymus weight showed a significant age-related reduction. The anterior pituitary (AP) weight and plasma TSH were significantly higher in old than in young rats. Three pairs of parameters showed highly significant levels of linear correlation: AP weight vs. T alpha 1; thymus weight vs. T4 and T alpha 1 vs. T4 (p less than 0.01, p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.001, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
众所周知，在生命早期，胸腺和神经内分泌系统相互影响彼此的成熟。此外，越来越多的证据表明，在成年期，免疫和神经内分泌系统也构成一个双向网络发挥作用。为了评估衰老过程中胸腺 - 神经内分泌网络可能发生的变化，我们着手测量并关联年轻（3个月）和年老（26个月）雄性斯普拉格 - 道利大鼠体内几种神经内分泌和胸腺激素的循环水平。从长期插管、未受应激的动物每隔30分钟采集一次连续血浆样本，共采集5小时。两天后，在上午11:30至下午1:30之间处死大鼠，获取躯干血清。所有激素均通过放射免疫测定法测量。在血浆中测量生长激素（GH）、催乳素（PRL）、促甲状腺激素（TSH）和皮质酮，而在躯干血清中测定甲状腺素（T4）、三碘甲状腺原氨酸（T3）、胸腺素α1（Tα1）和胸腺素β4（Tβ4）。年轻和年老大鼠之间，T3、PRL、皮质酮和Tβ4的循环水平没有显著差异，而GH、T4、Tα1和胸腺重量呈现出与年龄相关的显著降低。年老大鼠的垂体前叶（AP）重量和血浆TSH显著高于年轻大鼠。三对参数显示出高度显著的线性相关性：AP重量与Tα1；胸腺重量与T4以及Tα1与T4（分别为p < 0.01、p < 0.001和p < 0.001）。（摘要截断于250字）
