Alterations in the molecular weight distribution of proteins in rat brain synaptosomes during aging and centrophenoxine treatment of old rats.

Properly prepared membrane proteins of brain synaptosomes of 2-, 12- and 24-month-old CFY female rats were filtrated on a Sepharose 2B gel. The molecular weight distribution showed an age-dependence: there was a clear shift toward the higher molecular weights in the adult and old rats. The observed alterations reflect an increased cross-linking of the proteins during aging due most probably to the OH free radical damage of the cell components. Centrophenoxine treatment for 2 months reversed this phenomenon in the old animals: the high molecular weight fractions decreased and the lower ones increased in the treated animals as compared to the old, untreated rats. The results support the membrane hypothesis of aging and contribute to a better understanding of the biological effects of centrophenoxine.