Background We have previously reported the effects of age and diet

Background We have previously reported the effects of age and diet about nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and large intestinal fermentation patterns in healthy young adult and senior dogs. with apoptosis and defensive mechanisms were decreased in older vs. young adult dogs. No consistent diet-induced alterations in gene manifestation existed in both age groups, with the effects of diet becoming more pronounced in older dogs than in young adult dogs. Summary Our results provide molecular insight pertaining to the aged canine colon and 1186486-62-3 IC50 its predisposition to dysfunction and disease. Consequently, our data may aid in long term research pertaining to age-associated gastrointestinal physiological changes and spotlight potential focuses on for dietary treatment to limit 1186486-62-3 IC50 their progression. Introduction The primary role of the colon has been known for years to maintain water and electrolyte balance and to excrete undigested food materials. Currently, FBL1 the colon is definitely appreciated like a metabolically active organ and, therefore, colonic health is definitely closely linked with overall health of humans and animals [1]. Until recently, however, the physiology of the colon has received little attention in biological studies as compared to additional body organs. Diet composition may be the most important factor influencing colonic health because of its direct effects on microbial fermentation, morphology, and rate of metabolism. Ageing also takes on a significant part in colon health. It is well known that 1186486-62-3 IC50 age is highly associated with an increased risk of colonic diseases in humans [2], [3]. Similarly, dogs become more susceptible to gastrointestinal disorders with age [4]. Our earlier experiment reported significant variations in colonic butyrate concentrations and morphology (e.g., crypt depth) between older and young adult dogs [5]. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of age and diet on colonic physiology remain unstudied. Gene manifestation profiling may improve our understanding of colonic physiology and metabolic alterations like a function of age and diet. The PCR and Northern-blotting assays have been widely used for measuring gene expression changes in humans and animals for years; however, they are only capable of monitoring a limited quantity of genes at a time. As a powerful alternative to those classical methods, DNA microarrays can analyze thousands of genes simultaneously, providing a global look at of gene manifestation [6]. In recent years, microarrays have been used to investigate how genes are differentially indicated in diseased individuals [7], in response to diet treatments [8], and relating 1186486-62-3 IC50 to physiological stage [9], [10]. Consequently, microarrays may be used to link molecular events with physiological response and determine crucial genes and biological pathways. Previously, we reported the effects of diet (APB; animal protein-based vs. PPB; flower protein-based) and age (young adult vs. older dogs) on gene manifestation profiles of cerebral cortex [11], skeletal muscle mass [12], and abdominal adipose cells [13]. To our knowledge, no large-scale molecular analysis of colonic mucosa in young adult vs. older dogs is available. Consequently, we isolated RNA from colonic mucosa that was collected from the experiment of Kuzmuk et al. [5] and measured gene expression profiles using commercial microarrays. The objective of this experiment, consequently, was to compare colonic mucosal gene manifestation in healthy young adult vs. older dogs fed two distinct diet programs. Results and Conversation The characteristics of undigested food residue, microbial populations, and their fermentation play a key part in colonic health and physiology [14]. In our earlier experiments [5], [15], it was shown that age and diet affected nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and colonic fermentation patterns in dogs. In short, older dogs had higher (P<0.05) apparent total tract digestibility of organic matter and fat as compared to young growing dogs, while these variations were undetectable as young dogs became mature (12 month old). Dogs consuming PPB experienced a lower (P<0.01) fat digestibility, tended to have decreased (P<0.10) organic matter (OM) digestibility, but had increased (P<0.01) crude protein (CP) digestibility than dogs consuming APB. Older dogs experienced deeper (P<0.01) colonic crypt depth and higher (P<0.05) colonic concentrations of butyrate compared with young adult dogs regardless of diet programs. Dogs consuming APB had higher (P<0.05) colonic concentrations of ammonia and butyrate than dogs consuming PPB. These observations bring to question the relationship between physiological response and colonic transcriptional activity like a function of age and diet. To address this question, we used DNA microarray technology to provide a global look at of gene manifestation and advance our.