European Heart Journal Advance Access published online on September 1, 2008
European Heart Journal, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehn386
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Blood leucocyte telomere DNA content predicts vascular telomere DNA content in humans with and without vascular disease
1 Department of Surgery, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
2 Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary, PO Box 65, Leicester LE2 7LX, UK
3 Department of Vascular Surgery, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, UK
Received 2 January 2008; revised 30 July 2008; accepted 13 August 2008.
* Corresponding author. Tel/fax: +44 116 252 3182, Email: bw17{at}le.ac.uk
Aims: Previous studies have suggested that reduced telomere length in circulating leucocytes in humans is associated with premature vascular disease and by implication, accelerated vascular ageing. Importantly, a link between telomere length in circulating leucocytes and the blood vessel wall has never been established. We, thus, investigated the relationship between vascular wall and circulating leucocyte telomere length in humans with and without overt vascular disease.
Methods and results: Aortic biopsies and paired blood leucocytes were obtained from 20 patients with asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), undergoing elective open repair, and 12 morphologically normal aortas from a group of cadaveric organ donors of similar mean age. Telomere content was compared by quantitative PCR and expressed as telomere:genomic DNA ratio.
The telomere:genomic DNA content was significantly reduced in wall biopsies of AAA vs. normal aorta, and this difference remained after adjusting for age and gender. There were strong correlations between leucocyte and vascular telomere content when the AAA and control groups were analysed either separately or grouped irrespective of the presence of vascular disease (r = 0.62, P < 0.001).
Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that leucocyte DNA content is predictive of vascular telomere content and is an accurate surrogate for human vascular age.
Key Words: Ageing • Aneurysm • Arteries • Leucocytes • Vessels
Both authors contributed equally to this work.
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