Relationship between aging and susceptibility to protein oxidative damage.

The objective of this study was to determine if the susceptibility of tissues to experimental oxidative damage is altered during the aging process. Adult houseflies were X-irradiated at different dosages, when they had reached 0.25 and 0.70 of their average life expectancy. Protein carbonyl content and activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase were used as indices of oxidative damage. Fly homogenates as well as the live flies were more susceptible to oxidative damage at the older than at the younger age.