Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute of Health and Biological Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil.
Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology on Neuroimmunomodulation (INCT-NIM), Alagoas, Brazil.
Curr Aging Sci. 2022 Aug 4;15(3):266-273. doi: 10.2174/1874609815666220415132815.
Age-related impairments in macrophage functions have important consequences for the health of the elderly population. The aging process is also accompanied by a reduction in several hormones, including growth hormone (GH). Previous studies have shown that this hormone can affect macrophage activity in young individuals; however, the biological effects of GH stimulation on macrophages during aging have not yet been elucidated.
The aim of this work was to investigate the in vitro effects of GH on peritoneal macrophages from aged mice.
Peritoneal macrophages isolated from young (4 months-old) and old (12-15 months-old) mice were treated in vitro with 100 ng/mL of GH for 24 hours. After treatment, cells were analysed for cell morphology, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, expression of integrins, cell adhesion to extracellular matrix molecules, and migration in transwell chambers.
Although GH-treated cells from old mice exhibited decreased ROS production, we did not observe the effects of GH on macrophage morphology or macrophage phagocytic activity in young and old mice-derived cell cultures. Macrophages from old mice had increased adhesion to laminin and fibronectin substrates, as did cells obtained from young mice treated with GH, but no change was observed in the expression of integrin receptors. Furthermore, cells from old mice exhibited increased migration compared to young mice and a significant increase in macrophage migration was observed under GH stimulation.
Our results showed that GH can interfere with the motility of macrophages from old mice, advancing our understanding of the interactions between the immune and neuroendocrine systems during aging.
巨噬细胞功能随年龄增长而受损，这对老年人群的健康有重要影响。衰老过程还伴随着包括生长激素（GH）在内的多种激素水平的降低。先前的研究表明，这种激素可以影响年轻人的巨噬细胞活性；然而，GH 刺激对衰老过程中巨噬细胞的生物学影响尚未阐明。
本研究旨在探讨 GH 对老年小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞的体外作用。
从小鼠（4 月龄）和老年（12-15 月龄）小鼠中分离腹腔巨噬细胞，用 100ng/mL 的 GH 体外处理 24 小时。处理后，分析细胞形态、活性氧（ROS）产生、整合素表达、细胞对细胞外基质分子的黏附以及 Transwell 小室中的迁移。
尽管 GH 处理的老年小鼠细胞 ROS 产生减少，但我们未观察到 GH 对年轻和老年小鼠来源细胞培养中巨噬细胞形态或吞噬活性的影响。老年小鼠的巨噬细胞对层粘连蛋白和纤维连接蛋白底物的黏附增加，GH 处理的年轻小鼠细胞也是如此，但整合素受体的表达没有变化。此外，与年轻小鼠相比，老年小鼠的细胞迁移增加，GH 刺激下巨噬细胞迁移显著增加。
我们的结果表明，GH 可以干扰老年小鼠巨噬细胞的迁移能力，这加深了我们对衰老过程中免疫和神经内分泌系统相互作用的理解。
