Increased Immunoreactivities of Cleaved αII-Spectrin and Cleaved Caspase-3 in the Aged Dog Spinal Cord

초록

The activation of caspase-3 is considered to be a reliable marker for apoptotic cell death, and a 120-kDa fragment of alpha II-spectrin is generated by caspase-3 mediated cleavage of this structural protein. In the present study, we compared cleaved alpha II-spectrin (120-kDa) and cleaved caspase-3-immunoreactive cells and their protein levels in the cervical (C-5-C-6) and lumbar (L-3-L-4) levels of the spinal cord in adult (1-2 year-old) and aged (10-12 year-old) dogs (German shepherds). Weak cleaved alpha II-spectrin and cleaved caspase-3 immunoreactivity was found in neurons of the adult group; however, their immunoreactivity was distinctively increased in the neuronal cytoplasm in the aged group compared to those in the adult group, although the distribution pattern of their neurons was similar between the adult and age group. In addition, cleaved alpha II-spectrin and cleaved caspase-3 levels in the aged spinal cord were markedly increased compared to those in the adult group. These findings suggest that the increases of cleaved alpha II-spectrin and cleaved caspase-3 immunoreactivity may be related to aging of the spinal cord in dogs.

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