Changes In The Expression Of Phosphate Transporters, Inflammatory Markers, and Bone Cytokines With Increasing Age

Abstract

Aging is a complex biological process with many factors1. Regulation of a single ion such as phosphorus (Pi) can change with age. Pi takes part in cell signaling, energy metabolism and nucleic acid synthesis2. It is systemically regulated by the intestine and kidney3. Pi regulation declines with age3 and in diseases like diabetes mellitus and chronic renal disease. Disruption of Pi regulation can lead to disease in skeletal and cardiac systems, as well as further renal issues4. Since 85% of Pi is stored in the skeleton5, we focused on aging bone where the effects of systemic Pi dysfunction are apparent3. Mice aged 12, 80, and more than 100 weeks were euthanized. Femurs were harvested for gene expression analysis of Pi transporters, cytokines, and inflammatory markers. Fold‐changes in expression were determined using 2−ΔΔCτ method. The difference between age groups was analyzed using one way ANOVA. The results show that Pi homeostasis is not efficient with older age. Expression of Pi transporters and bone health markers both change with age. Understanding the link between chronic diseases and bone health is vital to the aging population for future management and prevention.