Experimentally elevated testosterone shortens telomeres across years in a free-living songbird
Experimentally elevated testosterone shortens telomeres across years in a free-living songbird
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实验性升高的睾丸激素会缩短自由生活鸣禽的端粒数年
DOI：
10.1111/mec.15819
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发表时间：
2021
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Ketterson, E.D.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Heidinger, B.J.;Slowinski, S.P.;Sirman, A.E.;Kittlison, J.;Gerlach, N.M.;Ketterson, E.D.
生殖投资往往以长寿为代价，但这些长期影响的机制尚未得到很好的理解。在雄性脊椎动物中，睾丸激素升高已被证明可以增加生殖成功率，但同时会降低生存率。可能有助于或作为睾酮对寿命的长期影响的生物标志物的一个因素是端粒，端粒通常与寿命呈正相关，并已被证明在生殖过程中缩短。在这项纵向研究中，我们测量了实验性升高的睾酮对自由生活的雄性黑眼容科斯（Junco hyemalis carolinensis）端粒缩短的影响，在该系统中，睾酮的实验性升高先前已被证明可以增加生殖成功率并降低存活率。我们发现睾酮治疗对端粒的影响很小，显著，睾酮治疗的男性随着年龄的增长表现出比对照组更大的端粒缩短。这些结果与端粒缩短增加可能是睾酮暴露升高的长期成本的假设一致。由于睾酮和端粒都是保守的生理机制，我们的研究结果表明，它们的相互作用可能广泛适用于雄性脊椎动物生殖的长期成本。
Reproductive investment often comes at a cost to longevity, but the mechanisms that underlie these long‐term effects are not well understood. In male vertebrates, elevated testosterone has been shown to increase reproductive success, but simultaneously to decrease survival. One factor that may contribute to or serve as a biomarker of these long‐term effects of testosterone on longevity is telomeres, which are often positively related to lifespan and have been shown to shorten in response to reproduction. In this longitudinal study, we measured the effects of experimentally elevated testosterone on telomere shortening in free‐living, male dark‐eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis carolinensis), a system in which the experimental elevation of testosterone has previously been shown to increase reproductive success and reduce survival. We found a small, significant effect of testosterone treatment on telomeres, with testosterone‐treated males exhibiting significantly greater telomere shortening with age than controls. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that increased telomere shortening may be a long‐term cost of elevated testosterone exposure. As both testosterone and telomeres are conserved physiological mechanisms, our results suggest that their interaction may apply broadly to the long‐term costs of reproduction in male vertebrates.