Investigation of the effects of aging on the expression of aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 4 protein in heart tissue

Aquaporin (AQP) 1 and AQP 4 are expressed in human heart and several studies have been focused on these two aquaporins. For this purpose, the present study is aimed to research the effects of aging on AQP 1 and AQP 4 in heart tissue. In this study, 14 Balb/C type white mice were used. Animals were divided into two equal groups. Group I consisted of 2-month-old young animals (n=7), and group II consisted of 18-month-old animals (n=7). To determine the AQP1 and AQP4 expression in the myocardium, the heart tissue was removed to perform western blotting and immunohistochemical and histopathological evaluations. Muscle fibers of the heart in aged animals were more irregular and loosely organized in hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) stained sections. Hscore analysis revealed that AQP1 and AQP4 immunoreactivity significantly increased in heart tissues of old mice compared with those of young mice (p