Department of Cardiac-, -Thoracic-, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy.
Occupational Medicine, University Hospital of Padua, 35128 Padua, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jul 24;25(15):8056. doi: 10.3390/ijms25158056.
This study explores the role of inflammation and oxidative stress, hallmarks of COVID-19, in accelerating cellular biological aging. We investigated early molecular markers-DNA methylation age (DNAmAge) and telomere length (TL)-in blood leukocytes, nasal cells (NCs), and induced sputum (IS) one year post-infection in pauci- and asymptomatic healthcare workers (HCWs) infected during the first pandemic wave (February-May 2020), compared to COPD patients, model for "aged lung". Data from questionnaires, Work Ability Index (WAI), blood analyses, autonomic cardiac balance assessments, heart rate variability (HRV), and pulmonary function tests were collected. Elevated leukocyte DNAmAge significantly correlated with advancing age, male sex, daytime work, and an aged phenotype characterized by chronic diseases, elevated LDL and glycemia levels, medications affecting HRV, and declines in lung function, WAI, lymphocyte count, hemoglobin levels, and HRV ( < 0.05). Increasing age, LDL levels, job positions involving intensive patient contact, and higher leukocyte counts collectively contributed to shortened leukocyte TL ( < 0.05). Notably, HCWs exhibited accelerated biological aging in IS cells compared to both blood leukocytes ( ≤ 0.05) and NCs ( < 0.001) and were biologically older than COPD patients ( < 0.05). These findings suggest the need to monitor aging in pauci- and asymptomatic COVID-19 survivors, who represent the majority of the general population.
这项研究探讨了炎症和氧化应激在加速细胞生物衰老中的作用，这些都是 COVID-19 的标志。我们调查了感染 COVID-19 的少症状和无症状医护人员（HCWs）在感染后一年的血液白细胞、鼻细胞（NCs）和诱导痰（IS）中的早期分子标志物——DNA 甲基化年龄（DNAmAge）和端粒长度（TL），与 COPD 患者（“衰老肺”的模型）进行了比较。收集了问卷调查、工作能力指数（WAI）、血液分析、自主心脏平衡评估、心率变异性（HRV）和肺功能测试的数据。白细胞 DNAmAge 升高与年龄增长、男性、白天工作以及慢性疾病、LDL 和血糖水平升高、影响 HRV 的药物、肺功能、WAI、淋巴细胞计数、血红蛋白水平和 HRV 下降等衰老表型有关（ < 0.05）。年龄增长、LDL 水平、需要与患者密切接触的工作岗位以及白细胞计数升高都导致白细胞 TL 缩短（ < 0.05）。值得注意的是，与血液白细胞（ ≤ 0.05）和 NCs（ < 0.001）相比，IS 细胞中的 HCWs 表现出更快的生物衰老，并且比 COPD 患者更显衰老（ < 0.05）。这些发现表明需要监测少症状和无症状 COVID-19 幸存者的衰老情况，他们代表了大多数人群。
