Elsevier

Respiratory Medicine

Volume 103, Issue 2, February 2009, Pages 230-236
Respiratory Medicine

Telomere shortening in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2008.09.003Get rights and content
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Summary

Chronic oxidative stress and systemic inflammation contribute to the pathology of several chronic diseases, one among which is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition, increased oxidative stress and inflammation have been observed to be negatively associated with telomere length (TL). Our aim was to investigate the TL in COPD patients in relation to pulmonary and extrapulmonary disease severity. Furthermore, based on experimental evidence suggesting the effects of oxidative stress on telomere shortening, we studied the association of TL with the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). One hundred and two COPD patients with moderate to severe COPD were studied and compared with 19 healthy age-matched controls. Patients were characterized by elevated levels of inflammatory markers (CRP, sTNF-receptors) and lower SOD-activity than the controls (p < 0.001), irrespective of the SOD genotype. TL was negatively associated with age (p < 0.01) and was significantly shorter in COPD patients than controls (p < 0.05). Within the patient group age-adjusted TL variability could not be explained by lung function and smoking history but a modest association was found with the percentage of fat mass (p < 0.05). These data provide evidence for a relationship between a disturbed oxidant/antioxidant balance and telomere shortening and indicate that preservation of fat mass may be protective in delaying telomere shortening in COPD patients.

Keywords

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Telomere length
SOD
Fat mass

Abbreviations

BIA
bioelectrical impedance analysis
COPD
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
CRP
C-reactive protein
DLco
diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide
EC-SOD
extracellular SOD
EDTA
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
FEV1
forced expiratory volume in 1 s
FFM
fat free mass
FFMI
fat free mass-index
FM
fat mass
FMI
fat mass-index
Hb
hemoglobin
NBT
nitro-blue tetrazolium
PCR
polymerase chain reaction
SBE
single base extension
SNP
single nucleotide polymorphism
SOD
superoxide dismutase
TL
telomere length

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These authors equally contributed to the manuscript.