Transcriptome analysis of young and old zebrafish ventricles. Transcriptome analysis of young and old zebrafish ventricles

The gradual decline of tissue functionality is the main reason why humans suffer from age-related diseases. The prevalence for cardiovascular diseases increases with increasing age. In order to prevent age-related cardiac diseases, it is of importance to understand the respective age-associated risk factors. We have therefore compared the ventricular transcriptome of old and young hearts of the model organism zebrafish. We identified the immune system as activated in the old and found muscle organization to deteriorate upon aging. We show an accumulation of immune cells, mostly macrophages, in the old zebrafish ventricle. Overall design: 6 samples: ventricle of 3 young and 3 old individuals