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Cao Z, Li Y, Wu J. Causal linkage of psoriasis with ageing: Mendelian randomization and enrichment analysis towards telomere length and psoriasis. Postgrad Med J 2024:qgae115. [PMID: 39237122 DOI: 10.1093/postmj/qgae115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2024] [Revised: 07/21/2024] [Accepted: 08/23/2024] [Indexed: 09/07/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Several studies demonstrated potential associations between the telomere length (TL) in leukocytes and psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This study aimed to investigate whether there was the causal genetic relationship between TL and psoriatic diseases bidirectionally. METHODS Two-sample univariable MR (UVMR) analysis was applied to explore the bidirectional causal association of TL with overall psoriasis, psoriasis vulgaris (PV) and PsA. Multivariable MR (MVMR) and the mediation effects analysis were applied to test whether the bidirectional associations between TLs and psoriasis were mediated by body mass index (BMI), alcohol, and smoking status. RESULTS According to the UVMR results, a negative causal impact of TL on the risk of overall psoriasis was found (OR = 0.775; 95% CI: 0.646-0.931; P = 6.36 × 10-3), and a similar trend was observed in the reversed direction for psoriasis-TL (IVW-β = -0.0097; 95% CI: -0.0170 to -0.0024; P = 9.12 × 10-3). There were also negative genetic associations between TL and PV bidirectionally. The independent association of genetically predicted TL and overall psoriasis persisted in the MVMR results controlled for BMI, smoking, and alcohol consumption (ORMVMR = 0.736; 95% CI: 0.597 to 0.907; P = 0.004). An independent significant association of genetic predisposition to PsA with TL was also found (βMVMR = 0.006; 95% CI: 0.001 to 0.012; P = 0.033). The mediation analysis showed that BMI partially mediated the reverse association between PSO and TL. CONCLUSION This MR study revealed an association between genetic indicators of shortened TL and risk of overall psoriasis and PV, and genetic predisposition to PsA was associated with longer TL. Key message What is already known on this topic? Telomere length (TL) is acknowledged to reflect an individual's biological age but is also associated with dysregulated immune function and immunosenescence. The impact of aging on psoriasis is controversial. Existing evidence suggests that aging may influence pathological changes and clinical course but whether aging is an independent risk factor remains unclear. What this study adds? The current study found an association between genetic indicators of shortened TL and the risk of overall psoriasis and psoriasis vulgaris (PV). There was a bidirectional link between genetically indicated overall psoriasis and shortened TL. A possible positive genetic association between PsA and TL was also found. How this study might affect research, practice, or policy? Our study may provide evidence for TL as new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in clinical practices for psoriasis. Greater efforts to psoriasis management may substantially reduce the aging attributable to TL shortening. Future large-scale GWAS and experimental studies are warranted to examine the mechanistic basis for links between TL and psoriasis to improve understanding and illuminate possible therapeutic targets for psoriatic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziqin Cao
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Yajia Li
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
- Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
| | - Jianhuang Wu
- Department of Spine Surgery and Orthopaedics, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
- National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha, Hunan 410008, China
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Wei D, Jiang Y, Cheng J, Wang H, Sha K, Zhao J. Assessing the association of leukocyte telomere length with ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1023991. [PMID: 37033949 PMCID: PMC10080099 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1023991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Telomere length shortening can cause senescence and apoptosis in various immune cells, resulting in immune destabilization and ageing of the organism. In this study, we aimed to systematically assess the causal relationship of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a Mendelian randomization study. Methods LTL (n=472174) was obtained from the UK Biobank genome-wide association study pooled data. AS (n=229640), RA (n=212472) were obtained from FinnGen database. MR-Egger, inverse variance weighting, and weighted median methods were used to estimate the effects of causes. Cochran's Q test, MR Egger intercept test, MR-PRESSO, leave-one-out analysis, and funnel plots were used to look at sensitivity, heterogeneity, and multiple effects. Forward MR analysis considered LTL as the exposure and AS, RA as the outcome. Reverse MR analysis considered AS, RA as the exposure and LTL as the outcome. Results In the forward MR analysis, inverse variance-weighted and weighted median analysis results indicated that longer LTL might be associated with increased risk of AS (IVW: OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.14-2.11, p = 0.006). MR Egger regression analysis showed no pleiotropy between instrumental variables (IVs) (Egger intercept= 0.008, p = 0.294). The leave-one-out analysis showed that each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of AS was robust to each outcome. No significant causal effects were found between AS, RA and LTL in the reverse MR analysis. Conclusion Longer LTL may be related with an increased risk of developing AS, and these findings provide a foundation for future clinical research on the causal association between LTL and AS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donglei Wei
- Department of Orthopedic Trauma and Hand Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine, Orthopaedic Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Yage Jiang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Jianwen Cheng
- Department of Orthopedic Trauma and Hand Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Hui Wang
- Department of Orthopedic Trauma and Hand Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Ke Sha
- Department of Orthopedic Trauma and Hand Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
| | - Jinmin Zhao
- Department of Orthopedic Trauma and Hand Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine, Orthopaedic Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China
- *Correspondence: Jinmin Zhao,
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Liu M, Luo P, Liu L, Wei X, Bai X, Li J, Wu L, Luo M. Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and leukocyte telomere length: A Mendelian randomization study. Front Genet 2023; 14:1129247. [PMID: 37139230 PMCID: PMC10150136 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1129247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective: To elucidate the potential causality of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) study. Methods: The genetically predicted causation between LTL and IMIDs was evaluated using a two-sample MR method. We analyzed 16 major IMIDs, which included systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), sicca syndrome (SS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), type 1 diabetes (T1D), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), atopic dermatitis (AD), sarcoidosis, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, psoriasis, and childhood asthma. The random-effects inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was performed as the main analytical approach in MR. Various sensitivity analyses, including MR-Egger, MR robust adjusted profile score (MR-RAPS), weighted median, MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier (MR-PRESSO) methods, weighted mode, radial plot, and radial regression, were used to guarantee the robustness of the results and detect horizontal pleiotropy. Cochran's Q value was calculated to check for heterogeneity, and the MR Steiger approach was used to test the causal direction. Results: The MR results indicated significant inverse associations of LTL with risks of psoriasis (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.66-0.89, and p = 3.66 × 10-4), SS (OR: 0.75, CI: 0.58-0.98, and p = 0.03), RA (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.68-0.88, and p = 9.85 × 10-5), hypothyroidism (OR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.78-0.91, and p = 7,08 × 10-6), hyperthyroidism (OR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.44-0.83, and p = 1.90 × 10-3), sarcoidosis (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.54-0.83, and p = 2.60 × 10-4), and IPF (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.29-0.58, and p = 4.11 × 10-7) in the FinnGen study. We observed that longer LTL was associated with an increased risk of AS susceptibility (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.18-1.94, and p = 9.66 × 10-4). The results of the IVW method showed no causal relationship between TL and SLE (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.62-1.38, and p = 0.69) in the FinnGen study; however, a significantly positive correlation was shown between LTL and SLE in another larger GWAS (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.37-2.54, and p = 8.01 × 10-5). Conclusion: Our findings reveal that abnormal LTL has the potential to increase the risk of IMIDs. Therefore, it could be treated as a predictor and may provide new potential treatment targets for IMIDs. However, the change of LTL may not be the direct cause of IMIDs. Further studies should aim at the pathogenic mechanism or potential protective effects of LTL in IMIDs.
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Xie H, Ma Y, Shao M, Kong J, Zhou T, Wang F, Cai G, Xu S, Pan F. Telomere length in patients with osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Aging Clin Exp Res 2022; 34:495-503. [PMID: 34313963 DOI: 10.1007/s40520-021-01944-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomere length (TL) as a biomarker of aging was associated with many age-related diseases. The relationship between TL and osteoarthritis (OA), the most common form of joint diseases, had been investigated in a number of studies, but with the result inconsistent. AIMS The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the relationship between TL and OA. METHODS Until January 1, 2021, PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were comprehensively retrieved for relevant literatures. Quality of included literature was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) assessment scale. The pooled standard mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI) of Leukocytes TL was calculated using random-effect model. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were used to investigate the potential source of heterogeneity. RESULTS Six original studies containing 678 OA patients and 1457 healthy controls were included in this meta-analysis. All six included studies were case-control designed. Pooled results showed that patients with OA had a shorter TL in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) compared with healthy controls, (SMD = - 0.32, 95% CI - 0.57 to - 0.06, Z = - 2.45, P = 0.014). Subgroup and meta-regression analysis showed that sex ratio and body mass index (BMI) were possible sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was not observed. CONCLUSION The TL of PBLs in patients with OA was shorter than that of healthy controls, suggesting that PBLs TL may be closely associated with the pathogenesis and progression of OA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimin Xie
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Yubo Ma
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Ming Shao
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiangping Kong
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Tingting Zhou
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Feier Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Guoqi Cai
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
| | - Shenqian Xu
- Department of Rheumatism and Immunity, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, Anhui, China
| | - Faming Pan
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
- Inflammation and Immune Mediated Diseases Laboratory of Anhui Province, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China.
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Telomeres: New players in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases? J Autoimmun 2021; 123:102699. [PMID: 34265700 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaut.2021.102699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences located at the ends of linear chromosomes that preserve the integrity and stability of the genome. Telomere dysfunctions due to short telomeres or altered telomere structures can ultimately lead to replicative cellular senescence and chromosomal instability, both mechanisms being hallmarks of ageing. Chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and finally telomere length (TL) dynamics have been shown to be involved in various age-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs), including affections such as inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis and uveitis belong to this group of age-related NCDs. Although in recent years, we have witnessed the emergence of studies in the literature linking these IMIDs to TL dynamics, the causality between these diseases and telomere attrition is still unclear and controversial. In this review, we provide an overview of available studies on telomere dynamics and discuss the utility of TL measurements in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
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Abstract
Purpose Birdshot Uveitis (BU) is an archetypical chronic inflammatory eye disease, with poor visual prognosis, that provides an excellent model for studying chronic inflammation. BU typically affects patients in the fifth decade of life. This suggests that it may represent an age-related chronic inflammatory disease, which has been linked to increased erosion of telomere length of leukocytes. Methods To study this in detail, we exploited a sensitive standardized quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to determine the peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in 91 genotyped Dutch BU patients and 150 unaffected Dutch controls. Results Although LTL erosion rates were very similar between BU patients and healthy controls, we observed that BU patients displayed longer LTL, with a median of log (LTL) = 4.87 (= 74131 base pair) compared to 4.31 (= 20417 base pair) in unaffected controls (P<0.0001). The cause underpinning the difference in LTL could not be explained by clinical parameters, immune cell-subtype distribution, nor genetic predisposition based upon the computed weighted genetic risk score of genotyped validated variants in TERC, TERT, NAF1, OBFC1 and RTEL1. Conclusions These findings suggest that BU is accompanied by significantly longer LTL.
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