Domínguez-de-Barros Angélica, Sifaoui Inés, Dorta-Guerra Roberto, Lorenzo-Morales Jacob, Castro-Fuentes Rafael, Córdoba-Lanús Elizabeth
Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Departamento de Matemáticas, Estadística e Investigación Operativa, Facultad de Ciencias, Sección de Matemáticas, Universidad de La Laguna, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Geroscience. 2025 Feb;47(1):121-134. doi: 10.1007/s11357-024-01397-5. Epub 2024 Oct 25.
Telomeres, conserved DNA sequences at chromosome ends, naturally shorten with age, exacerbated by external factors like environmental challenges and reproduction. Birds, particularly psittacine, are gaining prominence as new aging models over the years because of their unique characteristics. This study explores erythrocyte telomere length (TL) and oxidative stress markers in plasma of long- and short-lived captive birds of the order Psittaciformes over four years. Long-lived birds consistently exhibited longer TL than short-lived ones (p = 0.012) but experienced a more pronounced TL shortening rate (p < 0.001) than short-lived ones. Breeding individuals experienced increased TL shortening compared to non-reproductive counterparts in long-lived birds (p = 0.008). Interestingly, long-lived birds showed a higher total antioxidant capacity than short-lived ones (p < 0.001), which was also increased during breeding (p = 0.026). A significant correlation was found between the telomere length shortening rate within the 4 years of study and the accumulated oxidative stress (r = 0.426, p = 0.069) in short-lived birds. These findings shed light on TL and oxidative stress dynamics over time, revealing distinct patterns influenced by life-traits among longevity groups.
端粒是位于染色体末端的保守DNA序列，会随着年龄自然缩短，而环境挑战和繁殖等外部因素会加剧这种缩短。近年来，鸟类，尤其是鹦鹉，因其独特的特征而作为新的衰老模型受到越来越多的关注。本研究在四年时间里，对鹦形目圈养的长寿和短寿鸟类的红细胞端粒长度（TL）和血浆中的氧化应激标志物进行了探索。长寿鸟类的端粒长度始终比短寿鸟类长（p = 0.012），但端粒缩短速率比短寿鸟类更明显（p < 0.001）。在长寿鸟类中，繁殖个体与非繁殖个体相比，端粒缩短加剧（p = 0.008）。有趣的是，长寿鸟类的总抗氧化能力高于短寿鸟类（p < 0.001），并且在繁殖期间也有所增加（p = 0.026）。在短寿鸟类中，研究的4年中端粒长度缩短速率与累积氧化应激之间存在显著相关性（r = 0.426，p = 0.069）。这些发现揭示了端粒长度和氧化应激随时间的动态变化，揭示了长寿组中受生活特征影响的不同模式。
