The Relationship Between Telomere Length and Replicative Senescence is Quite Different in Blind Mole Rats

In this study, we examined the average telomere length and telomerase activity, as well as the formation of telomere associated foci (TAFs) and the mRNA expression levels of the shelterin components in cultured primary cells of Spalax, a long-lived, hypoxia-tolerant, and cancer-resistant blind mole-rat species. We showed that with cell passages, Spalax fibroblasts demonstrated significant shortening in telomere length, similar to rat cells, and in line with the processes observed earlier in tissues. We also demonstrated that the average telomere length in Spalax fibroblasts was significantly higher than the average length in rats, similar to previously reported results in Spalax muscles. Long telomeres are controversially described in the literature by their association with cancer risk, aging, or longevity. Extremely long telomeres in mice were reported to produce beneficial metabolic effects, low cancer risks, and longevity. Whether the long, seemingly guarded telomeres are one of the driving forces in Spalax longevity and healthy aging remains unclear. It may be speculated that longer telomeres are attributed to telomerase overexpression, which presumably prolongs cell survival; however, we found that Spalax fibroblast telomerase activity was, in fact, lower than that of its counterpart in rats, which further supports our hypothesis that integrity maintenance of the telomeres (such as via shelterin activity), rather than telomere elongation, is characteristic...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs