title: Stable telomere length and telomerase expression from naïve to memory B-lymphocyte differentiation.
abstract: Telomere length and telomerase activity play important roles in regulating replicative lifespan of cells. The length of telomeres also serves as a marker for the replicative history and for the remaining replicative potential of cells. Differential telomere length has been reported in human naïve and memory T cells but not in naïve versus memory B-lymphocytes. We report here an analysis of telomere length and induced telomerase expression in naïve (CD27(-)) and memory (CD27(+)) B cells from normal adults. Although both naïve and memory B cells lose telomere repeats with age, there is no consistent difference in telomere length between these two B cell subsets. Furthermore, both naïve and memory B cells are capable of inducing telomerase activity at similar levels after in vitro stimulation independent of donor's age. Finally, there is a slow increase of memory B cells in peripheral blood with age. Together, these findings suggest that B cells are capable of maintaining telomere length during differentiation from naïve to memory B cells and this ability is maintained through age.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Ni Huiping
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Joyce
authors.forename: Arron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hieatt
authors.forename: Francis J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Chrest
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yanovski
authors.forename: Nan-ping
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Weng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000276:immunology; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008875:Middle Aged; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase