Telomere shortening in familial and sporadic pulmonary fibrosis.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Heterozygous mutations in the coding regions of the telomerase genes, TERT and TERC, have been found in familial and sporadic cases of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. All affected patients with mutations have short telomeres.

Objectives

To test whether telomere shortening is a frequent mechanism underlying pulmonary fibrosis, we have characterized telomere lengths in subjects with familial or sporadic disease who do not have coding mutations in TERT or TERC.

Methods

Using a modified Southern blot assay, the telomerase restriction fragment length method, and a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay we have measured telomere lengths of genomic DNA isolated from circulating leukocytes from normal control subjects and subjects with pulmonary fibrosis.

SUBMITTER: Cronkhite JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2556455 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature