Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy.
Multiple Sclerosis Center, Binaghi Hospital, ASL Cagliari, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Italy.
J Neuroimmunol. 2023 Aug 15;381:578137. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2023.578137. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
Several studies indicated leukocyte telomere length (LTL) as a biomarker of multiple sclerosis (MS) evolution. This study aimed to investigate LTL in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared to that in healthy women (HW) across different reproductive phases, and to evaluate its relationship with MS activity.
Blood samples were collected from women with MS and HW during the fertile phase, pregnancy, and puerperium. LTL was determined using quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH).
Blood samples from 68 women with MS (22 during fertile life, 23 during pregnancy, and 23 post-partum) and 52 HW (23 during fertile life, 20 during pregnancy, and 9 post-partum) were analyzed. During pregnancy, LTL in MS women and HW was 84.7 ± 10.5 and 77.6 ± 11.5, respectively (p < 0.005). Regression analysis showed that shorter LTL was associated with pregnancy in HW (p = 0.021); this relationship was not observed in MS women, for whom shorter LTL was related to a higher EDSS (p = 0.036). A longitudinal analysis was performed in eight MS women, showing LTL shortening from pregnancy to puerperium (p = 0.003), which was related to MS reactivation (p = 0.042).
Our results highlight the possible associations between LTL, reproductive biological phases, and MS activity after delivery.
多项研究表明白细胞端粒长度（LTL）可作为多发性硬化症（MS）演变的生物标志物。本研究旨在比较不同生育阶段的 MS 女性与健康女性（HW）之间的 LTL，并评估其与 MS 活动的关系。
在生育期、妊娠和产褥期，采集 MS 女性和 HW 的血液样本。使用定量荧光原位杂交（Q-FISH）测定 LTL。
分析了 68 名 MS 女性（22 名在生育期，23 名在妊娠期间，23 名在产后）和 52 名 HW（23 名在生育期，20 名在妊娠期间，9 名在产后）的血液样本。在妊娠期间，MS 女性和 HW 的 LTL 分别为 84.7±10.5 和 77.6±11.5（p<0.005）。回归分析显示，HW 妊娠时 LTL 较短（p=0.021）；而 MS 女性中并未观察到这种关系，她们的 LTL 较短与 EDSS 较高有关（p=0.036）。对 8 名 MS 女性进行了纵向分析，结果显示 LTL 从妊娠到产褥期缩短（p=0.003），这与 MS 再激活有关（p=0.042）。
我们的研究结果突出了 LTL、生殖生物学阶段和产后 MS 活动之间的可能关联。
