Katepalli Madhu P, Adams Amanda A, Lear Teri L, Horohov David W
Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0099, USA.
Dev Comp Immunol. 2008;32(12):1409-15. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2008.06.007. Epub 2008 Jul 9.
Telomeres, specialized structures present at the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, function to maintain chromosome stability and integrity. Telomeres shorten with each cell division eventually leading to replicative senescence, a process thought to be associated with age-related decline in immune function. We hypothesized that shortened PBMC telomere length is a factor contributing to immunosenescence of the aged horse. Telomere length was assessed in 19 horses ranging in age from 1 to 25 years. Mitogen-induced 3H-thymidine incorporation, total serum IgG, and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression was also determined for each horse. Relative telomere length (RTL) was highly correlated with overall age. RTL was positively correlated with 3H-thymidine incorporation and total IgG. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was negatively correlated with RTL. These measures were also correlated with age, as expected. However, RTL was not correlated with immunosenescence and inflammaging in the oldest horse.
端粒是线性真核染色体末端的特殊结构，其功能是维持染色体的稳定性和完整性。端粒会随着每次细胞分裂而缩短，最终导致复制性衰老，这一过程被认为与免疫功能的年龄相关衰退有关。我们假设外周血单核细胞端粒长度缩短是导致老年马匹免疫衰老的一个因素。对19匹年龄在1至25岁之间的马匹的端粒长度进行了评估。还测定了每匹马的丝裂原诱导的3H-胸腺嘧啶核苷掺入量、血清总IgG和促炎细胞因子表达。相对端粒长度（RTL）与总体年龄高度相关。RTL与3H-胸腺嘧啶核苷掺入量和总IgG呈正相关。促炎细胞因子的表达与RTL呈负相关。正如预期的那样，这些指标也与年龄相关。然而，在最老的马匹中，RTL与免疫衰老和炎症衰老无关。
