A cohort study of telomere and telomerase biology in cats.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate telomere lengths in tissues of domestic shorthair (DSH) cats of various ages, evaluate the relationship between telomere length and age of cats, and investigate telomerase activity in the somatic tissues of cats.


METHODS
Tissues obtained from 2 DSH cats and blood samples obtained from 30 DSH cats.


METHODS
DNA isolated from blood cells and somatic tissue samples was subjected to terminal restriction fragment (TRF) analysis to determine mean telomere repeat lengths. Protein samples were subjected to analysis by use of a telomeric repeat-amplification protocol to assess telomerase activity.


RESULTS
MeanTRF values of cats ranged from 4.7 to 26.3 kilobase pairs, and there was significant telomeric attrition with increasing age of cat. Telomerase activity was not found in a wide range of normal tissues obtained from 2 cats.


CONCLUSIONS
Analysis of these results clearly indicates that telomeres are shorter in older cats, compared with young cats; therefore, telomeres are implicated in the aging process. The analysis of telomerase activity in normal somatic tissues of cats reveals a pattern of expression similar to that found in human tissues.


CONCLUSIONS
Fundamental differences in the biological characteristics of telomeres and telomerase exist between humans and the other most widely studied species (ie, mice). The results reported here reveal similarities in telomere and telomerase biologic characteristics between DSH cats and humans. Hence, as well as developing our understanding of aging in cats, these data may be usefully extrapolated to aging in humans.
McKevitt
Tom P
TP
Institute of Comparative Medicine, Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Glasgow University Veterinary School, Glasgow University, Glasgow, UK G61 1QH.
Nasir
Lubna
L
Wallis
Corrin V
CV
Argyle
David J
DJ
D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D002415:Cats / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D019098:Telomerase / Q000502:physiology*; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics*
D019098:Telomerase