ANALYSIS OF THE PROTEINS OF AGING CAENORHABDITIS-ELEGANS BY HIGH-RESOLUTION 2-DIMENSIONAL GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS

The metabolic rate decreases dramatically as a function of age in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Superoxide anion production, whi ch is tightly linked to oxygen consumption, and thus to metabolic rate , drops to a 20-fold lower level in 10-day-old, senescent worms, as co mpared to 4-day-old young adults. In a long-lived mutant strain of the same species metabolic activity is much better preserved. High resolu tion two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was employed to study alterat ions in the protein profile, correlating with changes of metabolic act ivity. Surprisingly, few proteins show age- or age- and strain-specifi c variations of spot intensity. The abundance of the huge majority of proteins displayed on these gels remains unaltered, irrespective of ag e and strain differences. These results imply that there are no major age-related alterations of proteins due to faulty protein synthesis or free radical attack, and that age-related changes in the rate of prot ein synthesis and breakdown must be strictly coordinated throughout th e aging process.