Three modes of age-related changes of hydrolytic enzymes in murine brain.

We followed the time course of the activities of various hydrolytic enzymes in murine brain for 30 months to investigate their roles in the aging process. Although most of the 15 enzymatic activities tested tended to rise with the increase in age, by analyzing them by multivariate analysis their movements could be divided into three types, each having a particular mode of nonlinear regression: exponential, logarithmic, or parabolic. Several enzymatic activities, including those of angiotensin-converting enzyme, esterase, trypsin-like enzyme, post-proline-cleaving enzyme, and Gly-Pro-aminopeptidase, showed rhythmic oscillations with about one cycle per 3 months throughout the period of 30 months. The behavior of these enzymes probably represents some particular aspect of metabolism relatively independent from the aging process. These findings may provide a fundamental clue in association with the process of maturation and aging in the brain.