TY - JOUR

T1 - The Greenland shark

T2 - a new challenge for the oxidative stress theory of ageing?

AU - Costantini, David

AU - Smith, Shona

AU - Killen, Shaun S.

AU - Nielsen, Julius

AU - Steffensen, John Fleng

N1 - Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - The free radical theory of ageing predicts that long-lived species should be more resistant to oxidative damage than short-lived species. Although many studies support this theory, recent studies found notable exceptions that challenge the generality of this theory. In this study, we have analysed the oxidative status of the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), which has recently been found as the longest living vertebrate animal known to science with a lifespan of at least 272years. As compared to other species, the Greenland shark had body mass-corrected values of muscle glutathione peroxidase and red blood cells protein carbonyls (metric of protein oxidative damage) above 75 percentile and below 25 percentile, respectively. None of the biochemical metrics of oxidative status measured in either skeletal muscle or red blood cells were correlated with maximum lifespan of species. We propose that the values of metrics of oxidative status we measured might be linked to ecological features (e.g., adaptation to cold waters and deep dives) of this shark species rather to its lifespan.

AB - The free radical theory of ageing predicts that long-lived species should be more resistant to oxidative damage than short-lived species. Although many studies support this theory, recent studies found notable exceptions that challenge the generality of this theory. In this study, we have analysed the oxidative status of the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), which has recently been found as the longest living vertebrate animal known to science with a lifespan of at least 272years. As compared to other species, the Greenland shark had body mass-corrected values of muscle glutathione peroxidase and red blood cells protein carbonyls (metric of protein oxidative damage) above 75 percentile and below 25 percentile, respectively. None of the biochemical metrics of oxidative status measured in either skeletal muscle or red blood cells were correlated with maximum lifespan of species. We propose that the values of metrics of oxidative status we measured might be linked to ecological features (e.g., adaptation to cold waters and deep dives) of this shark species rather to its lifespan.

U2 - 10.1016/j.cbpa.2016.09.026

DO - 10.1016/j.cbpa.2016.09.026

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27717642

VL - 203

SP - 227

EP - 232

JO - Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology

JF - Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology

SN - 1095-6433

ER -