telomerase activities in several organs and strains of rats with ageing

Telomerase activity is known to be implicated both in cell immortalization and carcinogenesis. Telomerase activity has not been detected in most human somatic tissues. However, we previously confirmed that the activity is present both in methylazoxymethanol acetate-induced rat colonic adenocarcinoma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Laboratory animals (London) 1999-04, Vol.33 (2), p.149-154
Main Authors: Suzui, N, Yoshimi, N, Kawabata, K, Mori, H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
age differences
Aging - physiology
animal organs
animal tissues
Animals
brain
Brain - enzymology
carcinogenesis
colon
Colon - enzymology
DNA Primers - chemistry
DNA replication
Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel - veterinary
enzyme activity
Female
gender differences
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
intestinal mucosa
liver
Liver - enzymology
Male
Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary
Pregnancy
Rats
Rats, Inbred F344 - genetics
Rats, Inbred Strains - genetics
Rats, Sprague-Dawley - genetics
Rats, Wistar - genetics
strain differences
Telomerase - chemistry
Telomerase - isolation & purification
telomeres
testes
Testis - enzymology
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Summary:Telomerase activity is known to be implicated both in cell immortalization and carcinogenesis. Telomerase activity has not been detected in most human somatic tissues. However, we previously confirmed that the activity is present both in methylazoxymethanol acetate-induced rat colonic adenocarcinoma and non-treated colonic mucosa, presumably indicating the tissue-specific activity of the enzyme in rats. To determine the standard activity of rat telomerase in various organs in relation to differences in sex, age and strain, we examined the activity by using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay. The testis, liver, and colon mucosa showed the activity. The brain had very low or negative activity in 5-week-old male rats of the F344, SD, Wistar, Donryu or ACI strains. Age (5-week-old and 9-month-old) or sex difference for the activity was not apparent in rats of these strains. In general, telomerase activity in the fetal brain, liver and kidney was stronger than in the adult organ. The telomerase activity of each organ was different from that of human. This difference may indicate that the rat has a specific mechanism for maintaining the telomeric repeats of the chromosome even in somatic tissues. The basic information resulting from this study may be useful for the study of the role of telomerase in tumorigenesis in animal experiment models.
ISSN:0023-6772
1758-1117
DOI:10.1258/002367799780578408