We have used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technique of di
fferential display to analyse changes in gene expression during ageing
of the rat brain. In this approach we have compared three young adult
(6 months) with three old adult (20 months) animals. RNA preparations
from the homogenised brains were subjected to reverse transcriptase (
RT)-PCR using 36 different combinations of primer pairs. Any PCR produ
ct which was consistently found to be more prominent in the three youn
g brains compared to the three old brains, and vice versa, was scored
as potentially representing a gene which was differentially expressed
during the ageing of this tissue. Out of a possible 2000+ PCR products
we identified 44 that might represent genes that exhibit differential
expression during ageing of the rat brain. An initial screen of these
fragments, by Southern-blotting the PCR products and hybridising them
with cDNA probes derived from either young or old brain RNA preparati
ons, indicated that 40% of them represented genes that were differenti
ally expressed. This approach is likely to prove invaluable for identi
fying cohorts of genes that show differential expression during the ag
eing process.