Abstract
The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study is a longitudinal study of approximately 1,000 people that was initiated in the early 1970’s. Assessments of participants up to age 45 have revealed that despite only a small percentage of participants being diagnosed with an age-related chronic disease, some members of the study are ageing at a much faster rate than others. Oxidative stress and/or mitochondrial dysfunction are hypothesized to play a central role in the processes underlying human ageing. We collected blood samples from Dunedin Study participants at age 45 and measured a selection of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction biomarkers in plasma, serum and circulating blood cells. Protein carbonyls and allantoin were measured in plasma, and GDF-15 in serum. To determine the variation in cellular redox homeostasis the redox state of mitochondrial peroxiredoxin 3 was measured in platelets, and the redox state of peroxiredoxin 2 was measured in red blood cells before and after challenge with exogenous hydrogen peroxide. Significant variation was observed in these cellular markers of redox homeostasis, with initial analyses indicating an association between oxidative stress and the pace of biological ageing.