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Antioxidant supplementation slows telomere shortening in free-living white stork chicks.

ABSTRACT: Telomere length (TL) and shortening is increasingly shown to predict variation in survival and lifespan, raising the question of what causes variation in these traits. Oxidative stress is well known to accelerate telomere attrition in vitro, but its importance in vivo is largely hypothetical. We tested this hypothesis experimentally by supplementing white stork (Ciconia ciconia) chicks with antioxidants. Individuals received either a control treatment, or a supply of tocopherol (vitamin E) and selenium, which both have antioxidant properties. The antioxidant treatment increased the concentration of tocopherol for up to two weeks after treatment but did not affect growth. Using the telomere restriction fragment technique, we evaluated erythrocyte TL and its dynamics. Telomeres shortened significantly over the 21 days between the baseline and final sample, independent of sex, mass, size and hatching order. The antioxidant treatment significantly mitigated shortening rate of average TL (-31% in shorter telomeres; percentiles 10th, 20th and 30th). Thus, our results support the hypothesis that oxidative stress shortens telomeres in vivo.

SUBMITTER: Pineda-Pampliega J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7003462 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Antioxidant supplementation slows telomere shortening in free-living white stork chicks.

Pineda-Pampliega Javier J Herrera-Dueñas Amparo A Mulder Ellis E Aguirre José I JI Höfle Ursula U Verhulst Simon S

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20200115 1918

Telomere length (TL) and shortening is increasingly shown to predict variation in survival and lifespan, raising the question of what causes variation in these traits. Oxidative stress is well known to accelerate telomere attrition in vitro, but its importance in vivo is largely hypothetical. We tested this hypothesis experimentally by supplementing white stork (Ciconia ciconia) chicks with antioxidants. Individuals received either a control treatment, or a supply of tocophe ...[more]

PMID: 31937223

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Project description:BackgroundOocytes may undergo two types of aging. The first is induced by exposure to an aged ovarian microenvironment before being ovulated, known as 'reproductive or maternal aging', and the second by either a prolonged stay in the oviduct before fertilization or in vitro aging prior to insemination, known as 'postovulatory aging'. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these aging processes remain to be elucidated. As telomere shortening in cultured somatic cells triggers replicative senescence, telomere shortening in oocytes during reproductive and postovulatory aging may predict developmental competence. This study aimed to ascertain the mechanisms underlying altered telomere biology in mouse oocytes during reproductive and postovulatory aging.MethodsWe studied Tert expression patterns, telomerase activity, cytosolic reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and telomere length in fresh oocytes from young versus reproductively-aged female mice retrieved from oviducts at 14 h post-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), in vivo or in vitro postovulatory-aged mouse oocytes at 23 h post-hCG. Oocytes were collected from super-ovulated C57BL/6 J mice of 6-8 weeks or 42-48 weeks of age. mRNA and protein expressions of the Tert gene were quantified using real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) and immunochemistry. Telomerase activity was measured by a telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay, while telomere length was measured by Q-PCR and quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses.ResultsThe abundance of Tert expression in oocytes significantly decreased during reproductive and postovulatory aging. Immunofluorescent staining clearly demonstrated an altered pattern and intensity of TERT protein expression in oocytes during reproductive aging. Furthermore, relative telomerase activity (RTA) in oocytes from reproductively-aged females was significantly lower than that in oocytes from young females. In contrast, RTA in postovulatory-aged oocytes was similar to that in fresh oocytes. Oocytes from reproductively-aged females and postovulatory-aged oocytes showed higher ROS levels than oocytes from young females. Relative telomere length (RTL) was remarkably shorter in oocytes from reproductively-aged females compared to oocytes from young females. However, postovulatory aging had no significant effect on RTL of oocytes.ConclusionsLong-term adverse effects of low telomerase activity and increased ROS exposure are likely associated with telomere shortening in oocytes from reproductively-aged female mice.

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Antioxidant supplementation slows telomere shortening in free-living white stork chicks.

Publications

Antioxidant supplementation slows telomere shortening in free-living white stork chicks.

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