Institution of Surgical Sciences, Department of Vascular Surgery, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
Atherosclerosis. 2011 Dec;219(2):946-50. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2011.09.034. Epub 2011 Oct 1.
Short relative telomere length (RTL) is associated with vascular ageing, inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors. Previous studies have reported an association between abdominal aortic aneurysm and short RTL. The presence of atherosclerosis among patients with aneurysm disease may, however, be a confounder. The aim was to explore the associations between short RTL and aneurysm disease, by comparing patients with isolated popliteal artery aneurysms with those having multiple aneurysms.
DNA was retrieved from 183 patients with popliteal artery aneurysm (PAA). They were all examined with ultrasound at the time of blood-sampling, and had a total of 423 aneurysms (range 1-7, mean 2.3/patient).
TL was measured with Real-Time PCR, RTL was calculated by comparing with three reference populations.
Patients with bilateral PAAs had a mean RTL of 0.985 vs. 1.038 with unilateral PAAs (P = 0.326). Patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm had RTL 1.035, vs. 0.999 without (P = 0.513). No difference was seen with or without femoral or iliac aneurysms. Fifty-six patients with isolated PAA at surgery and at re-examination had RTL 0.974, vs. 1.033 who had >1 aneurysm (P = 0.308). RTL was not associated with the number of aneurysms at re-examination (P = 0.727, one-way ANOVA). There was a trend towards shorter RTL among active smokers (0.93 vs. 1.04, P = 0.066).
No association between short RTL and multiple aneurysm disease was found. The previously reported association between AAA and short RTL may be secondary to cardiovascular risk factors, rather than by aneurysm disease.
短端粒相对长度（RTL）与血管老化、炎症和心血管危险因素有关。先前的研究报告了腹主动脉瘤与短 RTL 之间的关联。然而，在动脉瘤疾病患者中存在动脉粥样硬化可能是一个混杂因素。本研究旨在通过比较单纯腘动脉动脉瘤患者和多发性动脉瘤患者，探讨短 RTL 与动脉瘤疾病之间的关系。
从 183 例腘动脉动脉瘤（PAA）患者中提取 DNA。所有患者均在采血时进行超声检查，共发现 423 个动脉瘤（范围 1-7，平均 2.3/例）。
采用实时 PCR 测量 TL，通过与三个参考人群进行比较计算 RTL。
双侧 PAA 患者的 RTL 平均值为 0.985，单侧 PAA 患者为 1.038（P = 0.326）。腹主动脉瘤患者的 RTL 为 1.035，无腹主动脉瘤患者为 0.999（P = 0.513）。股动脉或髂动脉瘤患者无差异。56 例手术和复查时仅存在孤立性 PAA 的患者 RTL 为 0.974，而存在>1 个动脉瘤的患者 RTL 为 1.033（P = 0.308）。RTL 与复查时的动脉瘤数量无关（P = 0.727，单向方差分析）。活跃吸烟者的 RTL 偏短（0.93 与 1.04，P = 0.066）。
未发现短 RTL 与多发性动脉瘤疾病之间存在关联。先前报道的 AAA 和短 RTL 之间的关联可能是心血管危险因素引起的，而不是动脉瘤疾病引起的。
