Aging: effects on the prostaglandin production by skeletal muscle of male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Prostaglandin (PG) production from [1-14C] arachidonic acid was measured in homogenates of sartorius muscle of aged (more than 20 years) and young adult (7 to 11 years) rhesus monkeys. Total production by the aged series (3.21 +/- 0.31 (S.E.) nmol PG per g N per min) was about two times that of the young series (1.76 +/- 0.14 (S.E.) nmol per g N per min). Epinephrine-stimulated PG production was also twice as great in the aged muscle series as in the young adult series (7.22 +/- 0.74 (S.E.) and 3.54 +/- 0.52 (S.E.) nmol per g N per min). This difference was mainly due to greater production of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and PGF2 alpha. In both series, the addition of 500 microM epinephrine to the assay media significantly increased production of all types of PGs measured (6-keto-PGF1 alpha, PGF2 alpha, PGE2 plus thromboxane B2 [TXB2], the stable breakdown product of TXA2, and PGD2). The absolute increases in all types of PGs studied in the presence of epinephrine were significantly greater in the aged muscle, with the exception of PGF2 alpha. The distribution patterns of the various types of PGs studied were similar in all series, except for 6-keto-PGF1 alpha; this PG accounted for a greater percentage of the total production by aged muscle than by young adult muscle (p less than 0.05).