Relationship between Physical Activity Level, Telomere Length, and Telomerase Activity

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of exercise energy expenditure (EEE) with both telomere length and telomerase activity in addition to accounting for hTERT C-1327T promoter genotype.Methods-Sixty-nine (n = 34 males; n = 35 females) participants 50-70 yr were assessed for weekly EEE level using the Yale Physical Activity Survey. Lifetime consistency of EEE was also determined. Subjects were recruited across a large range of EEE levels and separated into quartiles: 0-990, 991-2340, 2341-3540, and 93541 kcalIwk j1 . Relative telomere length and telomerase activity were measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).Results-The second EEE quartile exhibited significantly longer telomere lengths [1.12 T 0.03 relative units (RU)] than both the first and fourth EEE quartiles (0.94 T 0.03 and 0.96 T 0.03 RU, respectively; P G 0.05) but was not different from the third quartile. Telomerase activity was not different among the EEE quartiles. An association was observed between telomerase enzyme activity and hTERT genotype with the TT genotype (1.0 • 10 j2 T 4.0 • 10 j3 attomoles (amol) per 10,000 cells; n = 19) having significantly greater telomerase enzyme activity than both the CT (1.3 • 10 j3 T 3.2 • 10 j3 ; n = 30) and CC groups (5.0 • 10 j4 T 3.9 • 10 j3 ; n = 20; P = 0.01).Conclusion-These results indicate that moderate physical activity levels may provide a protective effect on PBMC telomere length compared with both low and high EEE levels. Keywords TELOMERE BIOLOGY; EXERCISE ENERGY EXPENDITURE; hTERT GENOTYPE; GENETICS; DNAPhysical activity (PA) and increased physical fitness are known to decrease the likelihood of morbidity and mortality from a variety of causes (e.g., reduced cardiovascular disease (CVD), insulin resistance, and hypertension) (6), with concomitant increases in longevity (21). Whereas the reduction of disease end points will necessarily increase longevity, whether PA also directly affects cellular aging remains unclear for either rodents or humans (7). Telomere length is a primary biomarker of cellular aging that has recently been associated with CVD (1), insulin resistance and hypertension (14), and morbidity and mortality (9). In the present study, we explored the correlation of PA levels with telomere length and telomerase enzyme activity.Address for correspondence: Stephen M. Roth, Ph.D., 2134 SPH Bldg, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2611; E-mail: sroth1@umd.edu.. Telomeres are found on the ends of linear chromosomes and act as a mitotic clock (18), which shortens with every cell division until cellular senescence. Thus, telomeres are considered an important aging biomarker (2,4). Telomeres and their length are not, however, static entities but rather are a dynamic system (4). In certain cells, the ribonucleoprotein, telomerase, maintains and lengthens telomeres, allowing continued mitotic activity without progression to senescence (5). In cells with telomerase activity, telomere length can be maintain...

Moderate and intense exercise lifestyles attenuate the effects of aging on telomere length and the survival and composition of T cell subpopulations

“…This trend toward longer telomeres was detected not only in the whole CD4 + and CD8 + T cell compartments but also in their respective CD45RO + /CD45RO neg and CD28 + /CD28 neg subsets, although statistical significance was observed only in the total CD8 + and CD8 + CD28 neg compartments between the IT and NT groups. These data are particularly important because previous studies on telomere length and physical activity showed conflicting results (Cherkas et al 2008;Ludlow et al 2008;Shin et al 2008;Woo et al 2008;Du et al 2012;Laine et al 2015). Comparisons among these studies are limited by differences in study design, including the immunological parameters assessed and the cohorts analyzed, which differed not only in age and gender but also in the type, intensity, and regularity of physical activity.…”

“…Telomere shortening has been considered a marker of immunosenescence. The impact of regular exercise on telomere length remains controversial, with studies showing either no effect (Shin et al 2008;Woo et al 2008;Laine et al 2015) or a protective effect (Cherkas et al 2008;Ludlow et al 2008;Du et al 2012). Therefore, we measured and compared telomere length in total T cells [CD3 + ], CD4 + CD45RO + T cells, CD4 + CD45RO neg T cells, CD8 + CD28 + T cells, and CD8 + CD28 neg T cells among the groups.…”

Does telomere length predict decline in physical functioning in older twin sisters during an 11-year follow-up?

“…Many studies have, however, either failed to confirm this association (Harris et al 2006b;Cassidy et al 2010) or reported an inverted U-curve association in which telomeres were longest in participants who were moderately active and shortest among those who were inactive or very active (Ludlow et al 2008). Very few of the participants in this study were physically very active; thus, conclusions on whether faster telomere erosion is related to a high level of physical activity cannot be drawn.…”

Resistance Training and Redox Homeostasis: Correlation with Age-Associated Genomic Changes

“…However, it must be considered that TL in different cell types may better reflect specific diseases, tissue-specific aging, or cell-specific adaptations [67]. To Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/redox date, there are many evidences about the association between habitual PA and longer leukocyte telomere length (LTL) [14,17,37,40,71,18,57,39], but most of them derive from studies where aerobic endurance-exercise training was used as intervention [14,17,37,18,57]. Moreover, they have shown conflicting results, with telomeres that can take three different trajectories (expected shortening, maintenance, and lengthening).…”