Aviv Abraham
The Center of Human Development and Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey, Room F-464, MSB, UMDNJ, New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Ave., MSB F-464, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2008 Sep;63(9):979-83. doi: 10.1093/gerona/63.9.979.
There are neglected but growing problems in the epidemiological field of telomere biology. The focus of the field has been on leukocyte telomere dynamics, which ostensibly register the accruing burden of oxidative stress and inflammation. Important as they are, studies that have examined associations between leukocyte telomere length and indices of aging and diseases of aging also include many that are compromised by poor epidemiological and laboratory methodology. The shortcomings of these studies muddle findings, undermine conclusions, and compromise the ability of the field to attain its goals, which include a better understanding of human aging. Specific steps are delineated to resolve these problems. They include a call for an impartial evaluation of the two major methods (Southern blots and quantitative polymerase chain reaction) currently in use to measure telomere parameters and a proposal for a working model to test the potential connections of leukocyte telomere dynamics with human aging and longevity.
在端粒生物学的流行病学领域存在一些被忽视但却日益凸显的问题。该领域的重点一直放在白细胞端粒动态变化上，表面上它记录了氧化应激和炎症累积的负担。尽管这些研究很重要，但那些研究白细胞端粒长度与衰老指标及衰老相关疾病之间关联的研究，也有许多因流行病学和实验室方法欠佳而受到影响。这些研究的缺点使研究结果变得模糊，破坏了结论的可信度，并损害了该领域实现其目标（包括更好地理解人类衰老）的能力。文中阐述了具体步骤来解决这些问题。其中包括呼吁对目前用于测量端粒参数的两种主要方法（Southern印迹法和定量聚合酶链反应）进行公正评估，并提出一个工作模型来测试白细胞端粒动态变化与人类衰老和长寿之间的潜在联系。
