A model of canine leukocyte telomere dynamics

Aging Cell

Athanase Benetos⁴  Masayuki Kimura¹  Carlos Labat²  Gerald M. Buchoff³  Shell Huber³  Laura Labat⁵  Xiaobin Lu¹ 

[1] The Center for Human Development and Aging, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103, USA;Inserm U961, Faculty of Medicine, Nancy University, Nancy, 54500, France;Hollistic Pet Care, Little Falls, NJ, 07424, USA;Geriatric Service, Nancy University Hospital, Nancy, 54511, France;Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, 94704, France

关键词: aging;    skeletal muscle;    telomere;    life span;    longevity;    mammals;   

DOI  :  10.1111/j.1474-9726.2011.00744.x

来源: Wiley

【 摘 要 】

Summary

Recent studies have found associations of leukocyte telomere length (TL) with diseases of aging and with longevity. However, it is unknown whether birth leukocyte TL or its age-dependent attrition – the two factors that determine leukocyte TL dynamics – explains these associations because acquiring this information entails monitoring individuals over their entire life course. We tested in dogs a model of leukocyte TL dynamics, based on the following premises: (i) TL is synchronized among somatic tissues; (ii) TL in skeletal muscle, which is largely postmitotic, is a measure of TL in early development; and (iii) the difference between TL in leukocytes and muscle (ΔLMTL) is the extent of leukocyte TL shortening since early development. Using this model, we observed in 83 dogs (ages, 4–42 months) no significant change with age in TLs of skeletal muscle and a shorter TL in leukocytes than in skeletal muscle (P < 0.0001). Age explained 43% of the variation in ΔLMTL (P < 0.00001), but only 6% of the variation in leukocyte TL (P = 0.035) among dogs. Accordingly, muscle TL and ΔLMTL provide the two essential factors of leukocyte TL dynamics in the individual dog. When applied to humans, the partition of the contribution of leukocyte TL during early development vs. telomere shortening afterward might provide information about whether the individual’s longevity is calibrated to either one or both factors that define leukocyte TL dynamics.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© 2011 The Authors. Aging Cell © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland