Short Leukocyte Telomere Length Precedes Clinical Expression of Atherosclerosis: The Blood-and-Muscle Model.

ABSTRACT:

Rationale

Short telomere length (TL) in leukocytes is associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). It is unknown whether this relationship stems from having inherently short leukocyte TL (LTL) at birth or a faster LTL attrition thereafter. LTL represents TL in the highly proliferative hematopoietic system, whereas TL in skeletal muscle represents a minimally replicative tissue.

Objective

We measured LTL and muscle TL (MTL) in the same individuals with a view to obtain comparative metrics for lifelong LTL attrition and learn about the temporal association of LTL with ASCVD.

Methods and results

Our Discovery Cohort comprised 259 individuals aged 63±14 years (mean±SD), undergoing surgery with (n=131) or without (n=128) clinical manifestation of ASCVD.

SUBMITTER: Benetos A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5821479 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature