Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Robert Kilpatrick Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary, University of Leicester, Leicester LE2 7LX, United Kingdom.
Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2010 May;39(5):559-64. doi: 10.1016/j.ejvs.2010.01.013. Epub 2010 Feb 20.
Telomeres are specialised DNA structures present at the ends of linear chromosomes, which shorten with each successive cell division and the length of which represents cellular biological age. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and white cell telomere length.
Peripheral blood samples were collected from 190 patients with AAA and 183 controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from white cells and telomere lengths determined using a chemiluminescence technique.
The mean white cell telomere length was significantly lower in AAA patients compared to controls (median age 66 years in both groups), with a mean difference of 189 base pairs (bp) (95% confidence interval 77 bp to 301 bp, P=0.005). This relationship between case-control status and mean telomere restriction fragment (TRF) length did not change after adding other risk factors into a multiple regression model. The risk of having AAA doubled in patients with a mean TRF length in the lowest quartile compared to patients with a mean TRF length in the highest quartile (odds ratio 2.30, 95% Confidence Interval 1.28-4.13, P=0.005).
Our data show that patients with AAA have shorter leukocyte telomere length compared to controls. This suggests that vascular biological aging may have a role in the pathogenesis of AAA.
端粒是线性染色体末端的特殊 DNA 结构，随着细胞分裂的进行而逐渐缩短，其长度代表细胞的生物学年龄。本研究旨在探讨腹主动脉瘤（AAA）与白细胞端粒长度的关系。
收集了 190 例 AAA 患者和 183 例对照者的外周血样本。从白细胞中提取基因组 DNA，并使用化学发光技术测定端粒长度。
与对照组相比，AAA 患者的白细胞端粒长度明显缩短（两组的平均年龄均为 66 岁），平均差异为 189 个碱基对（bp）（95%置信区间 77 bp 至 301 bp，P=0.005）。在将其他危险因素纳入多元回归模型后，这种病例对照状态与平均端粒限制性片段（TRF）长度之间的关系并未改变。与平均 TRF 长度处于最高四分位数的患者相比，平均 TRF 长度处于最低四分位数的患者发生 AAA 的风险增加了一倍（优势比 2.30，95%置信区间 1.28-4.13，P=0.005）。
我们的数据表明，与对照组相比，AAA 患者的白细胞端粒长度较短。这表明血管生物学衰老可能在 AAA 的发病机制中起作用。
