Category — exercise
Anti-Aging (Elle Magazine, 2011)
In 1984, University of California, Berkeley biology professor Elizabeth Blackburn and then grad student Carol Greider made the discovery that a quarter century later would win them the Nobel Pnze: They identified telomerase as the enzyme that protects the DNA in our chromosomes, in effect keeping our cells-and, to some degree, us-young. But telomerase is naturally produced only minimally and intermittently in some of our cells-just enough to grt. disposable us a maximum life span of around 120 years. Unless, that is, someone figures out how to increase the telomerase inside our bodies. Such tinkering with the basic machinery of life has been a theoretical possibility since the 1990s, when scientists
at the Bay Area biotech firm Geron and elsewhere identified the human telomerase gene.
July 19, 2011 No Comments
Telomere Length Trajectory and Its Determinants in Persons with Coronary Artery Disease: Longitudinal Findings from the Heart and Soul Study
Ramin Farzaneh-Far1,2*, Jue Lin3, Elissa Epel4, Kyle Lapham3, Elizabeth Blackburn3, Mary A. Whooley2,5,6
1 Division of Cardiology, San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California, United States of America, 2 Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America, 3 Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America, 4 Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America, 5 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California, United States of America, 6 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America
Abstract Top
Background
Leukocyte telomere length, an emerging marker of biological age, has been shown to predict cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, the natural history of telomere length in patients with coronary artery disease has not been studied. We sought to investigate the longitudinal trajectory of telomere length, and to identify the independent predictors of telomere shortening, in persons with coronary artery disease.
Methodology/Principal Findings
In a prospective cohort study of 608 individuals with stable coronary artery disease, we measured leukocyte telomere length at baseline, and again after five years of follow-up. We used multivariable linear and logistic regression models to identify the independent predictors of leukocyte telomere trajectory. Baseline and follow-up telomere lengths were normally distributed. Mean telomere length decreased by 42 base pairs per year (p<0.001). Three distinct telomere trajectories were observed: shortening in 45%, maintenance in 32%, and lengthening in 23% of participants. The most powerful predictor of telomere shortening was baseline telomere length (OR per SD increase = 7.6; 95% CI 5.5, 10.6). Other independent predictors of telomere shortening were age (OR per 10 years = 1.6; 95% CI 1.3, 2.1), male sex (OR = 2.4; 95% CI 1.3, 4.7), and waist-to-hip ratio (OR per 0.1 increase = 1.4; 95% CI 1.0, 2.0).
Conclusions/Significance
Leukocyte telomere length may increase as well as decrease in persons with coronary artery disease. Telomere length trajectory is powerfully influenced by baseline telomere length, possibly suggesting negative feedback regulation. Age, male sex, and abdominal obesity independently predict telomere shortening. The mechanisms and reversibility of telomeric aging in cardiovascular disease deserve further study.
June 1, 2011 No Comments
Phys Ed: How Exercising Keeps Your Cells Young
By Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times Health Blog
The sedentary older subjects had telomeres that were on average 40 percent shorter than in the sedentary young subjects, suggesting that the older subjects’ cells were, like them, aging. The runners, on the other hand, had remarkably youthful telomeres, a bit shorter than those in the young runners, but only by about 10 percent. In general, telomere loss was reduced by approximately 75 percent in the aging runners. Or, to put it more succinctly, exercise, Dr. Werner says, ‘‘at the molecular level has an anti-aging effect.’’
January 27, 2010 1 Comment
Skeletal muscle telomere length in healthy, experienced, endurance runners
Dale E. Rae1, 7 , Alban Vignaud2, 3, Gillian S. Butler-Browne2, 3, Lars-Eric Thornell4, Colin Sinclair-Smith5, E. Wayne Derman1, Mike I. Lambert1 and Malcolm Collins6, 1
| (1) | UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa |
| (2) | Institut de Myologie, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR-S 974, 75013 Paris, France |
| (3) | Institut de Myologie, INSERM, UMR-S 974, 75013 Paris, France |
| (4) | Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Section for Anatomy, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden |
| (5) | Department of Pathology, Red Cross Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa |
| (6) | South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa |
| (7) | UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, University of Cape Town, P.O. Box 115, Newlands, 7725, South Africa |
Measuring the DNA telomere length of skeletal muscle in experienced endurance runners may contribute to our understanding of the effects of chronic exposure to endurance exercise on skeletal muscle. This study compared the minimum terminal restriction fragment (TRF) length in the vastus lateralis muscle of 18 experienced endurance runners (mean age: 42 ± 7 years) to those of 19 sedentary individuals (mean age: 39 ± 10 years). The runners had covered almost 50,000 km in training and racing over 15 years. Minimum TRF lengths measured in the muscle of both groups were similar (P = 0.805) and within the normal range. Minimum TRF length in the runners, however, was inversely related to their years spent running (r = −0.63, P = 0.007) and hours spent training (r = −0.52, P = 0.035). Therefore, since exposure to endurance running may influence minimum TRF length, and by implication, the proliferative potential of the satellite cells, chronic endurance running may be seen as a stressor to skeletal muscle.
January 26, 2010 No Comments
Leukocyte telomere length is preserved with aging in endurance exercise-trained adults and related to maximal aerobic capacity.
Mech Ageing Dev. 2010 Feb;131(2):165-167. Epub 2010 Jan 12.
Larocca TJ, Seals DR, Pierce GL.
Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Telomere length (TL), a measure of replicative senescence, decreases with aging, but the factors involved are incompletely understood. To determine if age-associated reductions in TL are related to habitual endurance exercise and maximal aerobic exercise capacity (maximal oxygen consumption, VO(2)max), we studied groups of young (18-32 years; n=15, 7 male) and older (55-72 years; n=15, 9 male) sedentary and young (n=10, 7 male) and older (n=17, 11 male) endurance exercise-trained healthy adults. Leukocyte TL (LTL) was shorter in the older (7059+/-141bp) vs. young (8407+/-218) sedentary adults (P<0.01). LTL of the older endurance-trained adults (7992+/-169bp) was approximately 900bp greater than their sedentary peers (P<0.01) and was not significantly different (P=0.12) from young exercise-trained adults (8579+/-413). LTL was positively related to VO(2)max as a result of a significant association in older adults (r=0.44, P<0.01). Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that VO(2)max was the only independent predictor of LTL in the overall group. Our results indicate that LTL is preserved in healthy older adults who perform vigorous aerobic exercise and is positively related to maximal aerobic exercise capacity. This may represent a novel molecular mechanism underlying the “anti-aging” effects of maintaining high aerobic fitness.
January 12, 2010 No Comments
Coupling Aging Immunity with a Sedentary Lifestyle: Has the Damage Already Been Done?
Richard J. Simpson, Keith Guy
Laboratory of Integrated Physiology, Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, Houston, Tex., USA
Gerontology (DOI: 10.1159/000270905)
The elderly population is at an unprecedented risk of infectious diseases and malignancy due to apparently inevitable age-related declines in immunity. The ‘immune risk profile’ (IRP) is an array of biomarkers that has been used to predict morbidity and mortality in older adults. As it is generally accepted that middle-aged and elderly individuals who habitually participate in moderate-intensity exercise are less likely to incur an infection than their sedentary counterparts, this review addresses current knowledge on the effects of regular exercise on aspects of adaptive immunity as they relate to the IRP. Findings from cross-sectional studies mostly show enhanced immunity in physically active compared to sedentary older adults. These include greater T-cell responsiveness to mitogens in vitro, a reduced frequency of antigen-experienced and senescent T-cells (i.e. CD45RO+/KLRG1+/CD57+/CD28-), enhanced IL-2 production and T-lymphocyte expression of the IL-2 receptor, longer chromosome telomere lengths in blood leukocytes and in vivo immune responses to vaccines and recall antigens. In contrast, the evidence from the available longitudinal studies that have used an exercise training intervention in previously sedentary elderly to improve similar immune responses is less compelling. Although this might indicate that exercise has limited immune restorative properties in previously sedentary elderly, there are still relatively few studies that have addressed specific IRP criteria and the large variation in experimental design among the longitudinal studies complicates the juxtaposition of these results. It is clear that a more substantial and focused research approach is required before physical exercise can be used in earnest as an effective immune restorative strategy in the elderly. This mini-review summarizes the major findings of these studies and proposes future avenues of research to investigate the effects of regular exercise on aspects of adaptive immunity in the elderly as they relate to the IRP.
December 19, 2009 No Comments
The biology of satellite cells and telomeres in human skeletal muscle: effects of aging and physical activity
School of Health and Medical Sciences, Division of Sport Sciences, Orebro University, Orebro, Sweden.
The decline in the neuromuscular function affects the physical performance and is a threat for independent living in later life. The age-related decrease in muscle satellite cells observed by the age of 70 can be specific to type II fibers in some muscles. Several studies have shown that different forms of exercise induce the expansion of satellite cell pool in human skeletal muscle of young and elderly. Exercise is a powerful non-pharmacological tool inducing the renewal of the satellite cell pool in skeletal muscles. Skeletal muscle is not a stable tissue as satellite cells are constantly recruited during normal daily activities. Satellite cells and the length of telomeres are important in the context of muscle regeneration. It is likely that the regulation of telomeres in vitro cannot fully mimic the behavior of telomeres in human tissues. New insights suggest that telomeres in skeletal muscle are dynamic structures under the influence of their environment. When satellite cells are heavily recruited for regenerative events as in the skeletal muscle of athletes, telomere length has been found to be either dramatically shortened or maintained and even longer than in non-trained individuals. This suggests the existence of mechanisms allowing the control of telomere length in vivo.
September 17, 2009 No Comments
The Association Between Physical Activity in Leisure Time and Leukocyte Telomere Length
Lynn F. Cherkas, PhD; Janice L. Hunkin, BSc; Bernet S. Kato, PhD; J. Brent Richards, MD; Jeffrey P. Gardner, PhD; Gabriela L. Surdulescu, MSc; Masayuki Kimura, MD, PhD; Xiaobin Lu, MD; Tim D. Spector, MD, FRCP; Abraham Aviv, MD; Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(2):154-158
Background: Physical inactivity is an important risk factor for many aging-related diseases. Leukocyte telomere dynamics (telomere length and age-dependent attrition rate) are ostensibly a biological indicator of human aging. We therefore tested the hypothesis that physical activity level in leisure time (over the past 12 months) is associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in normal healthy volunteers.
Results: Leukocyte telomere length was positively associated with increasing physical activity level in leisure time (P_.001); this association remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, socioeconomic status, and physical activity at work. The LTLs of the most active subjects were 200 nucleotides longer than those of the least active subjects (7.1 and 6.9 kilobases, respectively; P=.006). This finding was confirmed in a small group of twin pairs discordant for physical activity level (on average, the LTL of more active twins was 88 nucleotides longer than that of less active twins; P=.03).
Conclusions: A sedentary lifestyle (in addition to smoking, high body mass index, and low socioeconomic status) has an effect on LTL and may accelerate the aging process. This provides a powerful message that could be used by clinicians to promote the potentially antiaging effect of regular exercise.
May 12, 2009 No Comments