Aim: 

Recent evidence has questioned the validity of the free radical theory of aging. Our aim was to test whether there is oxidative stress in tissues critically involved in aging like central nervous system or bone marrow stem cells, and whether this correlates with lower in vivo glucose consumption and with behavioral tests in rodents.

Methods: 

We used a genetic model of aging (young, adult and old mice): senescence accelerated mice prone (SAMP) and resistant (SAMR) mice and we measured behavioral and oxidative stress parameters as well as in vivo brain glucose consumption by positron emission tomography (PET).

Results: 

Brains of old SAM prone (SAMP) animals consume significantly less glucose (around 30%) than young ones. behavioral characteristics also indicate that SAMP animals age faster than SAM resistant (SAMR) ones. Mitochondrial peroxide production in SAMP animals is significantly higher than that of SAMR ones. This results in damage in both the central nervous system and bone marrow stem cells, including oxidation of proteins and lipids and, in the case of stem cells, chromosomal aberrations.

Conclusion: 

Our results support the role of the free radical theory of aging in critical tissues involved in aging like stem cells or the central nervous system.

This work has been supported by BFU2007-65803/BFI and ISCIII2006-RED13-027 from the 'Red Temática de investigación cooperativa en envejecimiento y fragilidad' (RETICEF) to J.V., by grant GV/2007/263 to C.B and by grant GVPRE/2008/138 to J. G.