Hyperactive when young, hypoactive and overweight when aged: connecting the dots in the story about locomotor activity, body mass, and aging in Trpv1 knockout mice

Aging (Albany NY). 2011 Apr;3(4):450-4. doi: 10.18632/aging.100306.

Abstract

We have recently found that, at a young age, transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (Trpv1) knockout (-/-) mice have a higher locomotor activity than their wild-type littermates (+/+). We have also found that, with age, Trpv1(-/-) mice become substantially heavier than Trpv1(+/+) controls, thus forming a paradoxical association between locomotor hyperactivity and overweight. The present study solves this contradiction. By using two experimental paradigms, we show that aged Trpv1(-/-) mice have not an increased, but a decreased, locomotor activity, as compared to age-matched Trpv1(+/+) controls. We also confirm that aged Trpv1(-/-) mice are overweight. We conclude that TRPV1 channels are involved in the regulation of both general locomotor activity and body mass in an age-dependent manner.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Body Mass Index*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout*
  • Motor Activity / physiology*
  • Overweight
  • TRPV Cation Channels / genetics
  • TRPV Cation Channels / metabolism*

Substances

  • TRPV Cation Channels
  • TRPV1 receptor