Telomerase Depletion Accelerates Ageing of the Zebrafish Brain.

Raquel R Martins, Savandara Besse, Pam S Ellis, Rabia Sevil, Naomi Hartopp, Catherine Purse, Georgia Everett-Brown, Owain Evans, Nadiyah Mughal, Mina H F Wahib, Zerkif Yazigan, Samir Morsli, Ada Jimenez-Gonzalez, Andrew Grierson, Heather Mortiboys, Chrissy Hammond, Michael Rera, Catarina M Henriques

School of Medicine and Population Health, Bateson Centre for Disease Mechanisms and Healthy Lifespan Institute (HELSI), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.School of Medicine and Population Health, Bateson Centre for Disease Mechanisms and Healthy Lifespan Institute (HELSI), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Decreased telomerase expression, telomere shortening, senescence-associated markers, and inflammation have all been independently observed in the ageing brain and associated with disease. However, causality between limited telomerase expression and brain senescence and neuro-inflammation in the natural ageing setting is yet to be established. Here, we address these questions using the zebrafish as an ageing model. Akin to humans, zebrafish display premature ageing and death in the absence of telomerase and telomere shortening is a driver of cellular senescence. Our work shows for the first time that telomerase deficiency (tert

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Research summary

Telomerase depletion leads to accelerated ageing and neuro-inflammation in the zebrafish brain. This study addresses the causal relationship between telomerase expression and the mechanisms of brain ageing, which is directly relevant to understanding the root causes of aging.

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