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Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence

Telomere length and the rate of telomere shortening have been suggested as particularly useful physiological biomarkers of the processes involved in senescent decline of somatic and reproductive function. However, longitudinal data on changes in telomere length across the lifespan are difficult to o...

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Autores principales: Hares, Michelle C., Vitikainen, Emma I.K., Marshall, Harry H., Thompson, Faye J., Blount, Jonathan D., Cant, Michael A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Elsevier Science 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5956279/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28964829
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2017.09.021
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author Hares, Michelle C.
Vitikainen, Emma I.K.
Marshall, Harry H.
Thompson, Faye J.
Blount, Jonathan D.
Cant, Michael A.
author_facet Hares, Michelle C.
Vitikainen, Emma I.K.
Marshall, Harry H.
Thompson, Faye J.
Blount, Jonathan D.
Cant, Michael A.
author_sort Hares, Michelle C.
collection PubMed
description Telomere length and the rate of telomere shortening have been suggested as particularly useful physiological biomarkers of the processes involved in senescent decline of somatic and reproductive function. However, longitudinal data on changes in telomere length across the lifespan are difficult to obtain, particularly for long-lived animals. Quasi-longitudinal studies have been proposed as a method to gain insight into telomere dynamics in long-lived species. In this method, minimally replicative cells are used as the baseline telomere length against which telomere length in highly replicative cells (which represent the current state) can be compared. Here we test the assumptions and predictions of the quasi-longitudinal approach using longitudinal telomere data in a wild cooperative mammal, the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo. Contrary to our prediction, telomere length (TL) was longer in leukocytes than in ear cartilage. Longitudinally, the TL of ear cartilage shortened with age, but there was no change in the TL of leukocytes, and we also observed many individuals in which TL increased rather than decreased with age. Leukocyte TL but not cartilage TL was a predictor of total lifespan, while neither predicted post-sampling survival. Our data do not support the hypothesis that cross-tissue comparison in TL can act as a quasi-longitudinal marker of senescence. Rather, our results suggest that telomere dynamics in banded mongooses are more complex than is typically assumed, and that longitudinal studies across whole life spans are required to elucidate the link between telomere dynamics and senescence in natural populations.
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spelling pubmed-59562792018-06-20 Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence Hares, Michelle C. Vitikainen, Emma I.K. Marshall, Harry H. Thompson, Faye J. Blount, Jonathan D. Cant, Michael A. Exp Gerontol Article Telomere length and the rate of telomere shortening have been suggested as particularly useful physiological biomarkers of the processes involved in senescent decline of somatic and reproductive function. However, longitudinal data on changes in telomere length across the lifespan are difficult to obtain, particularly for long-lived animals. Quasi-longitudinal studies have been proposed as a method to gain insight into telomere dynamics in long-lived species. In this method, minimally replicative cells are used as the baseline telomere length against which telomere length in highly replicative cells (which represent the current state) can be compared. Here we test the assumptions and predictions of the quasi-longitudinal approach using longitudinal telomere data in a wild cooperative mammal, the banded mongoose, Mungos mungo. Contrary to our prediction, telomere length (TL) was longer in leukocytes than in ear cartilage. Longitudinally, the TL of ear cartilage shortened with age, but there was no change in the TL of leukocytes, and we also observed many individuals in which TL increased rather than decreased with age. Leukocyte TL but not cartilage TL was a predictor of total lifespan, while neither predicted post-sampling survival. Our data do not support the hypothesis that cross-tissue comparison in TL can act as a quasi-longitudinal marker of senescence. Rather, our results suggest that telomere dynamics in banded mongooses are more complex than is typically assumed, and that longitudinal studies across whole life spans are required to elucidate the link between telomere dynamics and senescence in natural populations. Elsevier Science 2017-09-28 /pmc/articles/PMC5956279/ /pubmed/28964829 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2017.09.021 Text en © 2018 The Authors http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hares, Michelle C.
Vitikainen, Emma I.K.
Marshall, Harry H.
Thompson, Faye J.
Blount, Jonathan D.
Cant, Michael A.
Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence
title Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence
title_full Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence
title_fullStr Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence
title_full_unstemmed Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence
title_short Telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: Evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence
title_sort telomere dynamics in wild banded mongooses: evaluating longitudinal and quasi-longitudinal markers of senescence
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5956279/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28964829
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2017.09.021
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