Association between age-related changes in rat choroid plexus and lipofuscin accumulation in epithelial cells

BACKGROUND: The choroid plexus of the brain, the primary source of cerebrospinal fluid, consists of an inner stromal compartment and an outer epithelium. Epithelial cells renew slowly and, like other brain cells, can accumulate lipofuscin with age. Such age-related changes in laboratory animals, whose lifespan is considerably shorter than that of humans, have not previously been described.

AIM: The work aimed to test the hypothesis that epithelial cells of rat choroid plexus accumulate lipofuscin as they age.

METHODS: The study used male Wistar rats of different ages: 4–5 months (n = 3), 18 months (n = 3), and 28 months (n = 3). The presence of lipofuscin in tissues was assessed on paraffin-embedded brain sections using confocal microscopy based on its autofluorescence properties.

RESULTS: The study found that lipofuscin accumulates in the choroid plexus epithelium of rats as they age.

CONCLUSION: Further research into conditions and experimental factors that slow lipofuscin accumulation could aid in the development of novel medical technologies and drug products aimed at delaying aging of brain structures.