Differential effect of α- and γ-tocopherol supplementation in age- related transcriptional alterations in heart and brain of B6/C3H F1 mice

To investigate the global effects of vitamin E supplementation on aging, we used high-density oligonucleotide arrays to measure transcriptional alterations in the heart and brain (neocortex) of 30month-old B6C3F1 mice supplemented with αand γ-tocopherol since middle age (15 months). Gene expression profiles were obtained from 5and 30-month-old controls and 30-month-old mice supplemented with α-tocopherol (1g/kg), or a mixture of αand γ-tocopherol (500mg/kg of each tocopherol). In the heart, both tocopherol supplemented diets were effective in inhibiting the expression of genes previously associated with cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and increased innate immunity, while having a moderate effect on age-related transcriptional alterations linked to the stress response and protein synthesis. In the brain, induction of genes encoding ribosomal proteins and proteins involved in ATP biosynthesis was observed with aging and was markedly prevented by the mixture of αand γ-tocopherol supplementation, but not by α-tocopherol alone. These results demonstrate that middle age-onset dietary supplementation with αand γ-tocopherol can partially prevent age-associated transcriptional changes and that these effects are tissueand tocopherolspecific.