Abstract
Background: The hypothalamus plays an important role in the regulation of aging, but the underlying network mechanism is largely unknown. This study performed transcriptome sequencing of hypothalamic tissue in young and aged rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to determine gene expression changes in hypothalamus with age. Methods: The hypothalamus of young rhesus macaques (QN group, n=5, female) and aged macaques (LN group, n=5, female) were taken for transcriptome sequencing and screened for differential genes. KEGG signaling pathway analysis and GO enrichment analysis were performed using the DAVID database. After profiling the genes in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) results for the significantly differential expressed genes (DEGs) in the LN group compared with the QN group, gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and the enriched gene names of each term in the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway analysis were performed respectively. Results: A total of 34 significant DEGs between young and old rhesus macaques were screened out. Of these, there were 24 significant DEGs, including PTGDS, LCTL, SPP1, MRGPRF, MAN2A1, CLCA1, CDH19, CTNNA3, HAPLN2, IL25, GALNT6, DES, MYH11, LOC100430627, CHI3L1, LAMC3, ASAH2, BIRC5, PERM1, CCL19, LOC718794, CHIT1, CCL8, and GPR152, were up-regulated with age, while the10 significant DEGs were down-regulated with age, including the SERPINB5, KLK3, LOC693357, CGA, KLRC2, CYP19A1, TAC3, CD36, PGR, and TSHB. Conclusions: Gene expression changes in the hypothalamus with aging are dominated by estrogen-dependent gene regulation and the involvement of non-sex hormone-regulated genes to a lesser extent in hypothalamic aging.