The effect of age on in vitro motility speed of slow myosin extracted from single rat soleus fibres.

摘要

The effect of age on the motor protein myosin was examined in a novel in vitro motility assay. Myosin was extracted from soleus fibres of young (3-6 month) and old (20-24 month) rats. All fibres expressed the type I myosin heavy chain (MyHC) and the slow isoforms of the myosin light chains (MyLCs). In vitro motility speed was significantly (P < 0.001) faster in the young adult (1.43 +/- 0.23 microm s-1) than in the aged group (1.27 +/- 0.23 microm s-1). The result indicates that the age-related decrease in contractile speed observed in slow fibres may be the effect of a change in the properties of myosin with age.