Analysis of serum cytokine/chemokine profiles affected by aging and exercise in mice

Aging could be the cause of inflammation involved in the progression of many degenerative diseases while physical exercise might reduce the inflammation. This study examined the effects of aging versus exercise on serum profiles of cytokines and chemokines in mice models. Male C57BL/6N mice with different ages (2 and 20 months old) were subjected to treadmill exercise for 4 weeks. The exercise did not affect the body mass gain of the young mice but significantly reduced that of the old mice. Of 50 cytokines/chemokines analyzed using a multiplexed bead-based sandwich immunoassay, Eotaxin, Interleukin-9 and Thymus and activation-related chemokine showed significantly higher serum levels in old mice compared with young mice (p < 0.05). The treadmill exercise did not alter serum cytokines/chemokines levels significantly. This study suggests that the cytokines and chemokines, whose serum levels were changed age-dependently, would provide useful markers of the systemic low-level inflammation associated with aging and age-related diseases. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.