A subset of gut leukocytes has telomerase-dependent “hyper-long” telomeres and require telomerase for function in zebrafish

Telomerase, the enzyme capable of elongating telomeres, is usually restricted in human somatic cells, which contributes to progressive telomere shortening with cell-division and ageing. T and B-cells cells are somatic cells that can break this rule and can modulate telomerase expression in a homeostatic manner. Whereas it seems intuitive that an immune cell type that depends on regular proliferation outbursts for function may have evolved to modulate telomerase expression it is less obvious why others may also do so, as has been suggested for macrophages and neutrophils in some chronic inflammation disease settings. The gut has been highlighted as a key modulator of systemic ageing and is a key tissue where inflammation must be carefully controlled to prevent dysfunction. How telomerase may play a role in innate immune subtypes in the context of natural ageing in the gut, however, remains to be determined.

Using the zebrafish model, we show that subsets of gut immune cells have telomerase-dependent”hyper-long” telomeres, which we identified as being predominantly macrophages and dendritics (mpeg1.1⁺ and cd45⁺mhcII⁺). Notably, mpeg1.1⁺ macrophages have much longer telomeres in the gut than in their haematopoietic tissue of origin, suggesting that there is modulation of telomerase in these cells, in the gut. Moreover, we show that a subset of gut mpeg1.1⁺ cells express telomerase (tert) in young WT zebrafish, but that the relative proportion of these cells decreases with ageing. Importantly, this is accompanied by telomere shortening and DNA damage responses with ageing and a telomerase-dependent decrease in expression of autophagy and immune activation markers. Finally, these telomerase-dependent molecular alterations are accompanied by impaired phagocytosis of E. coli and increased gut permeability in vivo.

Our data show that limiting levels of telomerase lead to alterations in gut immunity, impacting on the ability to clear pathogens in vivo. These are accompanied by increased gut permeability, which, together, are likely contributors to local and systemic tissue degeneration and increased susceptibility to infection with ageing.