Telomeres shorten at equivalent rates in somatic tissues of adults

Lily Daniali, Athanase Benetos, Ezra Susser, Jeremy D. Kark, Carlos Labat, Masayuki Kimura, Kunj K. Desai, Mark Granick and Abraham Aviv ()
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Lily Daniali: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School
Athanase Benetos: Geriatric Service, Nancy University Hospital
Ezra Susser: Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Jeremy D. Kark: Epidemiology Unit, The Hebrew University–Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Carlos Labat: Geriatric Service, Nancy University Hospital
Masayuki Kimura: The Center of Human Development and Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School
Kunj K. Desai: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School
Mark Granick: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School
Abraham Aviv: The Center of Human Development and Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Telomere shortening in somatic tissues largely reflects stem cell replication. Previous human studies of telomere attrition were predominantly conducted on leukocytes. However, findings in leukocytes cannot be generalized to other tissues. Here we measure telomere length in leukocytes, skeletal muscle, skin and subcutaneous fat of 87 adults (aged 19–77 years). Telomeres are longest in muscle and shortest in leukocytes, yet are strongly correlated between tissues. Notably, the rates of telomere shortening are similar in the four tissues. We infer from these findings that differences in telomere length between proliferative (blood and skin) and minimally proliferative tissues (muscle and fat) are established during early life, and that in adulthood, stem cells of the four tissues replicate at a similar rate.

Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:4:y:2013:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms2602

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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2602

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