Accumulation of Dolichol in Older Tissues Satisfies the Proposed Criteria To Be Qualified a Biomarker of Aging

• Published in: The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 39 - 43
• Main Authors: Parentini, Ilaria, Cavallini, Gabriella, Donati, Alessio, Gori, Zina, Bergamini, Ettore
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Oxford University Press 01-01-2005
• Subjects: Age Factors; Aging; Aging - metabolism; Animals; Biochemistry; Biomarkers - metabolism; Criteria; Dolichol - metabolism; Gender differences; Gerontology; Humans; Tissues
• ISSN: 1079-5006; 1758-535X
• DOI: 10.1093/gerona/60.1.39

Criteria for defining biomarkers have been suggested. Accumulation of dolichol in tissues of older animals meets the following criteria: (a) levels of dolichol exhibit a quantitative correlation with age in all tissues and are not altered by several age-dependent diseases in the same direction as that of aging; (b) accumulation is not secondary to metabolic changes of aging and is altered appropriately by factors that modulate the aging rate like caloric restriction and physical exercise; (c) biomarker is applicable to different tissues across mammalian species, including humans, and to trisomy 21 and its hypothalamic digoxin-mediated model. Reliable changes in tissue dolichol levels are seen in relatively short intervals of time compared to over a life span, and levels can be tested on a small amount of tissue without causing death of the animal. In this article, we show applications to the study of host–graft interaction and detection of gender-related differences in biological age, and we discuss mechanism(s) of accumulation.