Heat stress response in young and old human peripheral lymphocytes

Ageing typically results in a decrease in the ability of the cells of the body to cope with environmental stressors. One of the key manifestations of this age-related decline is the attenuation of the universal stress response involving inter alia the induction of heat shock proteins (hsps) comprised of chaperones and key proteases associated with the proteosome. Previously, we reported details of the kinetics of the age-related attenuation of the expression of a range of hsps at the translational level. Here we use cDNA microarray analysis together with targeted western blotting analysis as well as comprehensive analysis of the state of cellular oxidant homeostasis to probe possible links between the age-related expression of certain genes and the oxidant status of the cell.