Data from: Parallel telomere shortening in multiple body tissues owing to malaria infection

Several studies have shown associations between shorter telomere length in blood and weakened immune function, susceptibility to infections, and increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Recently, we have shown that malaria accelerates telomere attrition in blood cells and shortens lifespan in birds. However, the impact of infections on telomere attrition in different body tissues within an individual is unknown. Here, we tested whether malarial infection leads to parallel telomere shortening in blood and tissue samples from different organs. We experimentally infected siskins (Spinus spinus) with the avian malaria parasite Plasmodium ashfordi, and used real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to measure telomere length in control and experimentally infected siskins. We found that experimentally infected birds showed faster telomere attrition in blood over the course of infection compared with control individuals (repeatedly measured over 105 days post-infection (DPI)). Shorter telomeres were also found in the tissue of all six major organs investigated (liver, lungs, spleen, heart, kidney, and brain) in infected birds compared with controls at 105 DPI. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing that an infectious disease results in synchronous telomere shortening in the blood and tissue cells of internal organs within individuals, implying that the infection induces systemic stress. Our results have far-reaching implications for understanding how the short-term effects of an infection can translate into long-term costs, such as organ dysfunction, degenerative diseases, and ageing.多项研究已证实，血液中端粒（telomere）长度较短与免疫功能受损、感染易感性升高以及发病率和死亡率上升存在关联。近期本团队证实，疟疾会加速血细胞中的端粒磨损，并缩短鸟类的寿命。然而，目前尚不明确感染对个体体内不同身体组织中端粒磨损的影响。本研究旨在探究疟疾感染是否会导致血液与不同器官组织样本中的端粒出现同步缩短。本研究通过禽疟原虫（Plasmodium ashfordi）实验感染金翅雀（Spinus spinus），并利用实时定量聚合酶链式反应（PCR）检测对照组与实验组感染金翅雀体内的端粒长度。研究发现，相较于对照组个体（在感染后105天内多次取样检测），实验感染组鸟类在感染过程中的血细胞端粒磨损速度更快。在感染后105天（DPI，days post-infection）时，相较于对照组，感染组鸟类的六大主要器官（肝脏、肺脏、脾脏、心脏、肾脏与大脑）组织中均检测到端粒长度更短的现象。据我们所知，本研究首次证实传染病可导致个体血液与内脏器官组织细胞出现同步端粒缩短，这意味着感染会引发全身性应激反应。本研究结果对于理解感染的短期效应如何转化为器官功能障碍、退行性疾病与衰老等长期健康代价具有深远意义。