Influence of Age, Treadmill Running, and Food Restriction on Plasma Fibrinogen Concentration and Expression of Gamma Chain mRNA in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats

Abstract

Plasma fibrinogen concentration and expression of mRNA encoding the γ-chain of fibrinogen were determined in female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 10, 21 and 30 months. Both parameters increased significantly with age in a parallel fashion. Food restriction was able to reduce the age-dependent increase of both plasma concentration and gene expression to levels below young controls. On the other hand, long-term treadmill running failed to influence the plasma fibrinogen concentration. From these results we conclude that the plasma fibrinogen concentration increases with age due to an increased fibrinogen biosynthesis.