Aging and Oxidative Stress Decrease Pineal Elongation Factor 2: In Vivo Protective Effect of Melatonin in Young Rats Treated With Cumene Hydroperoxide

We studied the alterations of Elongation Factor 2 (eEF2) in the pineal gland of aged rats as well as the possible protective role of exogenous melatonin on these changes in young rats treated with cumene hydroperoxide (CH), a compound that promotes lipid peroxidation and inhibits protein synthesis. The study was performed using male Wistar rats of 3 (control), 12, and 24 months and 3-month-old rats treated with CH, melatonin, and CH plus melatonin. We found that pineal eEF-2 is affected by aging and CH, these changes being prevented by exogenous melatonin in the case of CH-treated rats. The proteomic studies show that many other proteins are affected by aging and oxidative stress in the pineal gland. The results suggest that one of the possible mechanisms underlying pineal gland dysfunction during aging is the effect of lipid peroxidation on eEF-2, which is a key component of protein synthesis machinery. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 182-190, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.