title: The effect of age and telomere length on immune function in the horse.
abstract: Telomeres, specialized structures present at the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, function to maintain chromosome stability and integrity. Telomeres shorten with each cell division eventually leading to replicative senescence, a process thought to be associated with age-related decline in immune function. We hypothesized that shortened PBMC telomere length is a factor contributing to immunosenescence of the aged horse. Telomere length was assessed in 19 horses ranging in age from 1 to 25 years. Mitogen-induced 3H-thymidine incorporation, total serum IgG, and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression was also determined for each horse. Relative telomere length (RTL) was highly correlated with overall age. RTL was positively correlated with 3H-thymidine incorporation and total IgG. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was negatively correlated with RTL. These measures were also correlated with age, as expected. However, RTL was not correlated with immunosenescence and inflammaging in the oldest horse.
authors.affiliation: Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0099, USA.
authors.forename: Madhu P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Katepalli
authors.forename: Amanda A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Teri L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Lear
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Horohov
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006736:Horses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology