Molecular and Biochemical Analyses of Aging Hallmarks in the Central Nervous System of the Fast-Aging African Turquoise Killifish

Abstract

As modern society is graying, aging research and biogerontology models, in which the aging process can be studied, are becoming increasingly important. A proper aging model can be defined as one that displays many of the aging hallmarks. Here, we provide two different practical approaches—namely, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting—that can be used to investigate cellular senescence (RT-qPCR forp21andp27), altered intercellular communication/inflammaging (RT-qPCR foril-10,sirt-1,il-6,il-1b,il-8, andtnf), and oxidative stress (western blotting for 4-HNE) in the killifish central nervous system, and, more specifically, in the retina, optic tectum, and telencephalon. These molecular and biochemical analyses are a first step in confirming the aging characteristics but should preferably be combined with morphological analyses.