PML-nuclear bodies decrease with age and their stress response is impaired in aged individuals.

Background: Promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) have been depicted as structures which are involved in processing cell damages and DNA double-strand break repairs. The study was designed to evaluate differences in patients' PML-NBs response to stress factors like a cancerous disease and ionizing radiation exposure dependent on age.

Methods: In order to clarify the role of PML-NBs in the aging process, we examined peripheral blood monocytes of 134 cancer patients and 41 healthy individuals between 22 and 92 years of age, both before and after in vitro irradiation. Additionally, we analyzed the samples of the cancer patients after in vivo irradiation. Cells were immunostained and about 1600 cells per individual were analyzed for the presence of PML- and γH2AX foci.

Results: The number of existing PML-NBs per nucleus declined with age, while the number of γH2AX foci increased with age. There was a non-significant trend that in vivo irradiation increased the number of PML-NBs in cells of young study participants, while in older individuals PML-NBs tended to decrease. It can be assumed that PML-NBs decrease in number during the process of aging.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a dysfunctional PML-NBs stress response in aged cells.