Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Neonatology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Acta Paediatr. 2018 Aug;107(8):1395-1401. doi: 10.1111/apa.14294. Epub 2018 Mar 26.
Inflammation is a major factor in the pathophysiology of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and it contributes to accelerated telomere shortening and cellular ageing. This study aimed to determine its effect on telomere length and lung function in school-aged children born preterm with BPD.
We examined 29 children with BPD, born preterm in Stockholm county 1998-99, along with 28 children with allergic asthma born at term matched for age and gender. At 10 years of age, we measured relative telomere length (RTL) in blood by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, lung function by spirometry and inflammation by fractional exhaled nitric oxide and blood cytokines.
RTL was not different in preterm born with BPD compared to term born children with asthma. The gender effect was strong in both groups; girls had significantly longer median RTL than boys (1.8 versus 1.5, p < 0.01). Short RTL was associated with low forced expiratory flow, also after adjusting for gender, but was not affected by severity of BPD or ongoing inflammation.
Telomere length was similar in 10-year-old children born preterm with a history of BPD and term born children with allergic asthma. However, impaired lung function and male gender were associated with short telomeres.
炎症是支气管肺发育不良（BPD）病理生理学的一个主要因素，它导致端粒缩短和细胞衰老加速。本研究旨在确定其对患有 BPD 的早产儿在学龄期儿童的端粒长度和肺功能的影响。
我们检查了 1998-99 年斯德哥尔摩县出生的 29 名患有 BPD 的早产儿，以及 28 名年龄和性别相匹配的足月出生的过敏性哮喘儿童。在 10 岁时，我们通过定量聚合酶链反应测量了血液中的相对端粒长度（RTL）、通过肺活量测定法测量了肺功能、通过呼出气一氧化氮分数和血液细胞因子测量了炎症。
与足月出生的哮喘儿童相比，患有 BPD 的早产儿的 RTL 没有差异。两组的性别影响都很强；女孩的 RTL 中位数明显长于男孩（1.8 比 1.5，p<0.01）。短 RTL 与用力呼气流量降低有关，即使在调整性别后也是如此，但不受 BPD 严重程度或持续炎症的影响。
有 BPD 病史的早产儿和足月出生的过敏性哮喘儿童在 10 岁时的端粒长度相似。然而，肺功能受损和男性性别与短端粒有关。
