The age-related increase in IL-1 type I receptor in rat hippocampus is coupled with an increase in caspase-3 activation.

Evidence from several studies indicates that expression of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and IL-1 type I receptor is particularly high in hippocampus, and it has recently been shown that the concentration of IL-1beta is increased in the hippocampus of the aged rat. Here we report that this increase is coupled with an increase in expression of IL-1 type I receptor and increased activity of IL-1 receptor-associated kinase. The evidence presented indicates that the age-related increase in activity of the mitogen-activated protein kinases, Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, was accompanied by enhanced caspase-3 activity. Analysis of colocalization of activated caspase-3 with activated p38 (p-p38) suggested that p-p38 was necessary for activation of caspase-3; while in vitro analysis indicated that the IL-1beta-induced increase in caspase-3 activity was abrogated by the p38 inhibitor, SB203580. The IL-1beta-induced increase in caspase-3 activity in vitro was also abrogated by vasoactive intestinal peptide, which is a JNK inhibitor; however, colocalization of activated JNK (p-JNK) and activated caspase-3 did not clearly identify JNK as an upstream activator of caspase-3. We propose that these changes are indicative of cell death in aged hippocampus and suggest that they contribute to the age-related decrease in long-term potentiation in perforant path granule cell synapses.