Protein thiol oxidation does not change in skeletal muscles of aging female mice.

Oxidative stress caused by reactive oxygen species is proposed to cause age related muscle wasting (sarcopenia). Reversible oxidation of protein thiols by reactive oxygen species can affect protein function, so we evaluated whether muscle wasting in normal aging was associated with a pervasive increase in reversible oxidation of protein thiols or with an increase in irreversible oxidative damage to macromolecules. In gastrocnemius muscles of C57BL/6J female mice aged 3, 15, 24, 27, and 29 months there was no age related increase in protein thiol oxidation.

Screening for increased protein thiol oxidation in oxidatively stressed muscle tissue.

Elevated oxidative stress can alter the function of proteins through the reversible oxidation of the thiol groups of key cysteine residues. This study evaluated a method to scan for reversible protein thiol oxidation in tissue by measuring reduced and oxidized protein thiols. It assessed the responsiveness of protein thiols to oxidative stress in vivo using a dystrophic (mdx) mouse model and compared the changes to commonly used oxidative biomarkers.