Advanced age protects resistance arteries of mouse skeletal muscle from oxidative stress through attenuating apoptosis induced by hydrogen peroxide.

Advanced age is associated with elevated oxidative stress and can protect the endothelium from cell death induced by H2 O2 . Whether such protection occurs for intact vessels or differs between smooth muscle cell (SMC) and endothelial cell (EC) layers is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that ageing protects SMCs and ECs during acute exposure to H2 O2 (200 µm, 50 min). Mouse superior epigastric arteries (SEAs; diameter, ∼150 µm) were isolated and pressurized to 100 cmH2 O at 37˚C. For SEAs from young (4 months) mice, H2 O2 killed 57% of SMCs and 11% of ECs in males vs. 8% and 2%, respectively, in females. Therefore, SEAs from males were studied to resolve the effect of ageing and experimental interventions. For old (24 months) mice, SMC death was reduced to 10% with diminished accumulation of [Ca2+ ]i in the vessel wall during H2 O2 exposure. In young mice, genetic deletion of IL-10 mimicked the protective effect of ageing on cell death and [Ca2+ ]i accumulation. Whereas endothelial denudation or gap junction inhibition (carbenoxolone; 100 µm) increased SMC death, inhibiting NO synthase (l-NAME, 100 µm) or scavenging peroxynitrite (FeTPPS, 5 µm) reduced SMC death along with [Ca2+ ]i . Despite NO toxicity via peroxynitrite formation, endothelial integrity protects SMCs. Caspase inhibition (Z-VAD-FMK, 50 µm) attenuated cell death with immunostaining for annexin V, cytochrome C, and caspases 3 and 9 pointing to induction of intrinsic apoptosis during H2 O2 exposure. We conclude that advanced age reduces Ca2+ influx that triggers apoptosis, thereby promoting resilience of the vascular wall during oxidative stress.