The changes of age-related molecules in the trophocytes and fat cells of queen honeybees (Apis mellifera)

Abstract

Queen honeybees (Apis mellifera) have much longer lifespans than worker bees. Although the expression of age-related molecules in the trophocytes and fat cells of young and old workers have been determined, the expression of age-related molecules in queens is unknown. In this study, we examined the expression of age-related molecules in the trophocytes and fat cells of young and old queens. Molecular analyses detected no differences in telomerase activity or telomere lengths between trophocytes and fat cells from young and old queens, indicating that these cells do not divide in adulthood. Further assays showed that old queens has higher non-homogeneous cellular morphology, senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) activity, accumulation of lipofuscin granules, lipid peroxidation, and protein oxidation compared to young queens. These results demonstrate that age-related molecules can be used to evaluate aging in the trophocytes and fat cells of queens and to lay the foundation for further study of the mechanisms that delay cellular aging in the trophocytes and fat cells of queens.aging / trophocyte / fat cell / queen / honeybee

Mitochondrial energy utilization maintains young status in the trophocytes and oenocytes of old queen honeybees

“…Studies of age-related molecules have shown that the trophocytes and oenocytes of old queen bees exhibit higher levels of senescence-associated beta-galactosidase, more lipofuscin granules, and higher lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation than those of young queen bees (Hsieh and Hsu 2011b). These results are similar to those reported in worker bees (Hsieh and Hsu 2011a).…”

“…As described in our previous studies (Hsieh and Hsu 2011b;Hsieh and Hsu 2013;Hsu and Hu 2014), young (2-month-old) and old (16-month-old) queen bees were collected from different hives on the same dates for use in the following experiments. The young and old queen bees were mated with drones and were able to lay eggs.…”

“…Parallel increases in age-related molecule accumulation and oxidative stress in the trophocytes and oenocytes of old queen bees indicate that high oxidative stress results in high expression of agerelated molecules (Hsieh and Hsu 2011b;Hsieh and Hsu 2013). Higher energy metabolism increases oxidative stress (Kowaltowski et al 2009;Hsu and Hsieh 2014), and ROS are generated as by-products of energy metabolism (Halliwell and Gutteridge 1999).…”

“…Old queen bees have high accumulations of age-related molecules and high oxidative stress (Hsieh and Hsu 2011b;Hsieh and Hsu 2013). However, energy-regulated molecule expression is similar between young and old queen bees.…”

Oxidative Stress and Anti-Oxidant Enzyme Activities in the Trophocytes and Fat Cells of Queen Honeybees (Apis mellifera)

“…The ease with which these cells can be isolated from the abdomen and manipulated as well as the fact that no cell division occurs during adulthood make them attractive targets for cellular senescence studies in honeybees. [14][15][16][17][18] Aging-related molecule assays in the trophocytes and fat cells of young or old workers and young or old queens showed that the trophocytes and fat cells of queens had longevity-promoting mechanisms that prolonged life span and could serve as target cells for the study of delayed cellular senescence. 14,15 If trophocytes and fat cells of queens are to be used for longevity-promoting mechanisms studies, it is important to investigate the changes in oxidative stress and anti-oxidant enzyme activities in young and old queens.…”