Heme oxygenase 1 expression in rat liver during ageing and ethanol intoxication

Heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) expression is recognized as a marker of cellular response to oxidative stress; since ageing is believed to be related to oxidative “wear and tear”, HO-1 may represent a candidate biomarker of ageing. In our study, the hepatic expression of HO-1 mRNA, evaluated by RT-PCR in 2.5–24 month-old rats, was higher at 6 months than at 2.5 months of age, but thereafter increased no further: on the contrary, a declining trend was observed. However, while 2.5 month-old rats responded to acute ethanol intoxication by displaying increased expression of liver HO-1 mRNA, and 6 month-old rats exhibited a mild response, 18 month-old rats did not show any response; this phenomenon suggests that during development and ageing the transcriptional response to oxidative stress decreases. In our view, the finding that HO-1 expression did not increase progressively during ageing may be explained by a decreased transcriptional ability to respond to stress in older animals, rather than by a reduction in oxidative stress.