ZFIN Image: Carneiro et al., 2016, Fig. 1.

Image

Figure Caption

Fig. 1.

Telomeres shorten at different rates, anticipating local and systemic tissue dysfunction in zebrafish aging. Telomeres shorten naturally over time in specific zebrafish organs, such as the gut and muscle (but not testes), regardless of differences in proliferation rates. This shortening, together with the accumulation of local telomere damage, precludes the onset of tissue-dysfunction events in aging, including intestinal inflammation and sarcopenia. Critically short telomeres in the gut and muscle might prove to be sufficient in disrupting homeostasis in unrelated tissues, where telomeres do not shorten, by generating systemic signals (purple) of dysfunction that create a ‘disease-permissive’ environment.

Acknowledgments

This image is the copyrighted work of the attributed author or publisher, and ZFIN has permission only to display this image to its users. Additional permissions should be obtained from the applicable author or publisher of the image. Full text @ Dis. Model. Mech.