Rane Grishma, Koh Woon-Puay, Kanchi Madhu Mathi, Wang Renwei, Yuan Jian-Min, Wang Xueying
1 Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System , Singapore, Singapore .
2 Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School , Singapore, Singapore .
Rejuvenation Res. 2015 Jun;18(3):203-10. doi: 10.1089/rej.2014.1617. Epub 2015 May 20.
Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and plasma homocysteine (HCY) have been independently associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. However, few studies have investigated the association between LTL and HCY levels.
This study investigated the association of LTL with CVD risk factors, including HCY, in an overt CVD-free Singapore Chinese population comprised of middle aged and elderly, the age group at risk of developing CVD.
The association of plasma HCY and other CVD biomarkers with LTL were assessed in 100 samples drawn from the Singapore Chinese Health Study (SCHS). SCHS, a population-based cohort, recruited Chinese individuals, aged 45-74 years, between 1993 and 1998. Questionnaire data were collected via face-to-face interviews. Known CVD biomarkers were measured from the blood collected at the time of recruitment, and LTL was measured using the conventional Southern blot method.
After adjustment for age, gender, smoking status, education, and dialect, LTL was found to be inversely associated with plasma HCY levels (p for trend=0.014). Serum urate showed a weak association (p for trend=0.056). Other CVD risk factors and nutrients, namely total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides and creatinine, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), folate, and vitamin B6 showed the expected trend with LTL, but did not reach statistical significance.
LTL displayed an inverse association with plasma HCY. This LTL-HCY inverse association in subjects lacking obvious cardiovascular events suggests that telomere length may be an intermediary in the biological mechanism by which elevated HCY leads to CVD.
白细胞端粒长度（LTL）和血浆同型半胱氨酸（HCY）均与心血管疾病（CVD）的发病率及死亡率独立相关。然而，鲜有研究探讨LTL与HCY水平之间的关联。
本研究在一个由中年及老年人群组成、无明显CVD且处于CVD发病风险年龄组的新加坡华裔人群中，调查LTL与包括HCY在内的CVD危险因素之间的关联。
从新加坡华人健康研究（SCHS）抽取的100份样本中，评估血浆HCY及其他CVD生物标志物与LTL之间的关联。SCHS是一项基于人群的队列研究，于1993年至1998年间招募了年龄在45 - 74岁的华裔个体。通过面对面访谈收集问卷数据。在招募时采集的血液中测量已知的CVD生物标志物，并使用传统的Southern印迹法测量LTL。
在调整年龄、性别、吸烟状况、教育程度和方言后，发现LTL与血浆HCY水平呈负相关（趋势p值 = 0.014）。血清尿酸显示出微弱关联（趋势p值 = 0.056）。其他CVD危险因素和营养素，即总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白（LDL）、甘油三酯和肌酐、高密度脂蛋白（HDL）、叶酸和维生素B6与LTL呈现预期趋势，但未达到统计学显著性。
LTL与血浆HCY呈负相关。在缺乏明显心血管事件的受试者中，这种LTL - HCY负相关表明端粒长度可能是HCY升高导致CVD的生物学机制中的一个中介因素。
