title: Telomere shortening in leukocyte subpopulations from baboons.
abstract: To address questions about telomere length regulation in nonhuman primates, we studied the telomere length in subpopulations of leukocytes from the peripheral blood of baboons aged 0.2-26.5 years. Telomere length in granulocytes, B cells, and subpopulations of T cells all decreased with age. Overall, telomere length kinetics were lineage- and cell subset-specific. T cells showed the most pronounced, overall decline in telomere length. Levels of telomerase in stimulated T cells from old animals were lower than in corresponding cells from young animals. Memory T cells with very short telomeres accumulated in old animals. In contrast, the average telomere length values in B cells remained relatively constant from middle age onward. Individual B cells showed highly variable telomere length, and B cells with very long telomeres were observed after the ages of 1-2 years. In general, cell type-specific telomere kinetics in baboons were remarkably similar to those observed in humans.
authors.affiliation: Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, 601 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1L3 Canada.
authors.forename: Gabriela M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Baerlocher
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Röth
authors.forename: Karen S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lansdorp
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010215:Papio; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000201:enzymology; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase