Effect of aging and oxidative stress on elongation factor-2 in hypothalamus and hypophysis.

The hypothalamic-hypophysis system (HHS) secretes peptide hormones whose synthesis requires the integrity of the translation machinery. As the organisms age, a considerable diminution of the protein synthesis takes place in several tissues. Among the possible causes of the decline of translation in old animals are the modifications of elongation factor-2 (eEF-2). We studied whether the level of this protein was affected in the HHS in old animals. The effects of aging are compared to those of an oxidant compound (cumene hydroperoxide) administered to young rats. The results indicate that oxidative stress could be involved in the alterations of eEF-2, which forms adducts with malondialdehyde (MDA) and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). The alterations of eEF-2 levels, secondary to lipid peroxidation and adduct formation with these aldehydes could contribute to the suboptimal hormone production from these tissues during aging. Besides eEF-2, proteomic analysis shows that several other proteins are affected.