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Rodríguez-Fernández B, Sánchez-Benavides G, Genius P, Minguillon C, Fauria K, De Vivo I, Navarro A, Molinuevo JL, Gispert JD, Sala-Vila A, Vilor-Tejedor N, Crous-Bou M. Association between telomere length and cognitive function among cognitively unimpaired individuals at risk of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 2024; 141:140-150. [PMID: 38936230 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is an objective biomarker of biological aging, and it is proposed to play a crucial role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. We aimed at evaluating the cross-sectional association between LTL and cognitive performance in middle-aged cognitively unimpaired individuals at increased risk of AD. METHODS A total of 1520 participants from the ALFA cohort were included. Relative telomere length was measured in leukocytes through qPCR. LTL was residualized against age and sex, and associations with cognitive performance were assessed in short and long groups based on residualized LTL (rLTL). Interactions with sex and genetic risk of AD were tested. RESULTS Non-linear associations were found between LTL and episodic memory (EM). Better EM was associated with longer rLTL among women in the short rLTL group. DISCUSSION Results suggest a potential role of telomeres in the cognitive aging process with sex-specific patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blanca Rodríguez-Fernández
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; IMIM - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 2nd floor, Campus Mar, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Sánchez-Benavides
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; IMIM - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 2nd floor, Campus Mar, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CIBER-FES). Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos 3-5. Pabellón 11, Planta 0, Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Patricia Genius
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; IMIM - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 2nd floor, Campus Mar, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Carolina Minguillon
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; IMIM - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 2nd floor, Campus Mar, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CIBER-FES). Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos 3-5. Pabellón 11, Planta 0, Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Karine Fauria
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CIBER-FES). Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos 3-5. Pabellón 11, Planta 0, Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Immaculata De Vivo
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. School of Public Health 2, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Arcadi Navarro
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Pg. Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jose Luis Molinuevo
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain
| | - Juan Domingo Gispert
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; IMIM - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 2nd floor, Campus Mar, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina. Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos 3-5. Pabellón 11, Planta 0, Madrid 28029, Spain; Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), C. de Melchor Fernández Almagro, 3, Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Aleix Sala-Vila
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; IMIM - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 2nd floor, Campus Mar, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Natalia Vilor-Tejedor
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; IMIM - Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, 2nd floor, Campus Mar, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, C/ del Dr. Aiguader, 88, Barcelona 08003, Spain; Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, C/ de Ramon Trias Fargas, 25, 27, Barcelona 08005, Spain.
| | - Marta Crous-Bou
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), Pasqual Maragall Foundation, C/ de Wellington, 30, Barcelona 08005, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (CIBER-FES). Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos 3-5. Pabellón 11, Planta 0, Madrid 28029, Spain; Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO)-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Center (IDIBELL), Hospital Duran i Reynals, Avinguda de la Granvia de l'Hospitalet, 199-203, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona 08908, Spain.
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de Lange AMG, Leonardsen EH, Barth C, Schindler LS, Crestol A, Holm MC, Subramaniapillai S, Hill D, Alnæs D, Westlye LT. Parental status and markers of brain and cellular age: A 3D convolutional network and classification study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 165:107040. [PMID: 38636355 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Recent research shows prominent effects of pregnancy and the parenthood transition on structural brain characteristics in humans. Here, we present a comprehensive study of how parental status and number of children born/fathered links to markers of brain and cellular ageing in 36,323 UK Biobank participants (age range 44.57-82.06 years; 52% female). To assess global effects of parenting on the brain, we trained a 3D convolutional neural network on T1-weighted magnetic resonance images, and estimated brain age in a held-out test set. To investigate regional specificity, we extracted cortical and subcortical volumes using FreeSurfer, and ran hierarchical clustering to group regional volumes based on covariance. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) derived from DNA was used as a marker of cellular ageing. We employed linear regression models to assess relationships between number of children, brain age, regional brain volumes, and LTL, and included interaction terms to probe sex differences in associations. Lastly, we used the brain measures and LTL as features in binary classification models, to determine if markers of brain and cellular ageing could predict parental status. The results showed associations between a greater number of children born/fathered and younger brain age in both females and males, with stronger effects observed in females. Volume-based analyses showed maternal effects in striatal and limbic regions, which were not evident in fathers. We found no evidence for associations between number of children and LTL. Classification of parental status showed an Area under the ROC Curve (AUC) of 0.57 for the brain age model, while the models using regional brain volumes and LTL as predictors showed AUCs of 0.52. Our findings align with previous population-based studies of middle- and older-aged parents, revealing subtle but significant associations between parental experience and neuroimaging-based surrogate markers of brain health. The findings further corroborate results from longitudinal cohort studies following parents across pregnancy and postpartum, potentially indicating that the parenthood transition is associated with long-term influences on brain health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Marie G de Lange
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | | | - Claudia Barth
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Louise S Schindler
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Arielle Crestol
- Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | | | - Sivaniya Subramaniapillai
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dónal Hill
- Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC), EPFL-ETHZ, Switzerland
| | - Dag Alnæs
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Centre for Precision Psychiatry, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Lars T Westlye
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Centre for Precision Psychiatry, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; KG Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Lee Y, Jugessur A, Gjessing HK, Harris JR, Susser E, Magnus P, Aviv A. Effect of polygenic scores of telomere length alleles on telomere length in newborns and parents. Aging Cell 2024:e14241. [PMID: 38943263 DOI: 10.1111/acel.14241] [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: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024] Open
Abstract
In adults, polygenic scores (PGSs) of telomere length (TL) alleles explain about 4.5% of the variance in TL, as measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Yet, these PGSs strongly infer a causal role of telomeres in aging-related diseases. To better understand the determinants of TL through the lifespan, it is essential to examine to what extent these PGSs explain TL in newborns. This study investigates the effect of PGSs on TL in both newborns and their parents, with TL measured by Southern blotting and expressed in base-pairs (bp). Additionally, the study explores the impact of PGSs related to transmitted or non-transmitted alleles on TL in newborns. For parents and newborns, the PGS effects on TL were 172 bp (p = 2.03 × 10-15) and 161 bp (p = 3.06 × 10-8), explaining 6.6% and 5.2% of the TL variance, respectively. The strongest PGS effect was shown for maternally transmitted alleles in newborn girls, amounting to 214 bp (p = 3.77 × 10-6) and explaining 7.8% of the TL variance. The PGS effect of non-transmitted alleles was 56 bp (p = 0.0593) and explained 0.6% of the TL variance. Our findings highlight the importance of TL genetics in understanding early-life determinants of TL. They point to the potential utility of PGSs composed of TL alleles in identifying susceptibility to aging-related diseases from birth and reveal the presence of sexual dimorphism in the effect of TL alleles on TL in newborns. Finally, we attribute the higher TL variance explained by PGSs in our study to TL measurement by Southern blotting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunsung Lee
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Astanand Jugessur
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Håkon K Gjessing
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Jennifer R Harris
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ezra Susser
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA
| | - Per Magnus
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Abraham Aviv
- Center of Human Development and Aging, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
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Andreu-Sánchez S, Ripoll-Cladellas A, Culinscaia A, Bulut O, Bourgonje AR, Netea MG, Lansdorp P, Aubert G, Bonder MJ, Franke L, Vogl T, van der Wijst MG, Melé M, Van Baarle D, Fu J, Zhernakova A. Antibody signatures against viruses and microbiome reflect past and chronic exposures and associate with aging and inflammation. iScience 2024; 27:109981. [PMID: 38868191 PMCID: PMC11167443 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109981] [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: 02/16/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Encounters with pathogens and other molecules can imprint long-lasting effects on our immune system, influencing future physiological outcomes. Given the wide range of microbes to which humans are exposed, their collective impact on health is not fully understood. To explore relations between exposures and biological aging and inflammation, we profiled an antibody-binding repertoire against 2,815 microbial, viral, and environmental peptides in a population cohort of 1,443 participants. Utilizing antibody-binding as a proxy for past exposures, we investigated their impact on biological aging, cell composition, and inflammation. Immune response against cytomegalovirus (CMV), rhinovirus, and gut bacteria relates with telomere length. Single-cell expression measurements identified an effect of CMV infection on the transcriptional landscape of subpopulations of CD8 and CD4 T-cells. This examination of the relationship between microbial exposures and biological aging and inflammation highlights a role for chronic infections (CMV and Epstein-Barr virus) and common pathogens (rhinoviruses and adenovirus C).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Andreu-Sánchez
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Aida Ripoll-Cladellas
- Life Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Anna Culinscaia
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Ozlem Bulut
- Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Arno R. Bourgonje
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- The Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Mihai G. Netea
- Department of Internal Medicine and Radboud Center for Infectious Diseases (RCI), Radboudumc, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Department for Immunology & Metabolism, Life and Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Peter Lansdorp
- Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Center, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Departments of Hematology and Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Geraldine Aubert
- Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Center, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Repeat Diagnostics Inc, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Marc Jan Bonder
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Lude Franke
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Thomas Vogl
- Center for Cancer Research, Medical University of Vienna, Wien, Austria
| | - Monique G.P. van der Wijst
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Marta Melé
- Life Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, 08034 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Debbie Van Baarle
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Prevention, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Jingyuan Fu
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Alexandra Zhernakova
- Department of Genetics, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
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Liu WS, Wu BS, Yang L, Chen SD, Zhang YR, Deng YT, Wu XR, He XY, Yang J, Feng JF, Cheng W, Xu YM, Yu JT. Whole exome sequencing analyses reveal novel genes in telomere length and their biomedical implications. GeroScience 2024:10.1007/s11357-024-01203-2. [PMID: 38837026 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01203-2] [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: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Telomere length is a putative biomarker of aging and is associated with multiple age-related diseases. There are limited data on the landscape of rare genetic variations in telomere length. Here, we systematically characterize the rare variant associations with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) through exome-wide association study (ExWAS) among 390,231 individuals in the UK Biobank. We identified 18 robust rare-variant genes for LTL, most of which estimated effects on LTL were significant (> 0.2 standard deviation per allele). The biological functions of the rare-variant genes were associated with telomere maintenance and capping and several genes were specifically expressed in the testis. Three novel genes (ASXL1, CFAP58, and TET2) associated with LTL were identified. Phenotypic association analyses indicated significant associations of ASXL1 and TET2 with cancers, age-related diseases, blood assays, and cardiovascular traits. Survival analyses suggested that carriers of ASXL1 or TET2 variants were at increased risk for cancers; diseases of the circulatory, respiratory, and genitourinary systems; and all-cause and cause-specific deaths. The CFAP58 carriers were at elevated risk of deaths due to cancers. Collectively, the present whole exome sequencing study provides novel insights into the genetic landscape of LTL, identifying novel genes associated with LTL and their implications on human health and facilitating a better understanding of aging, thus pinpointing the genetic relevance of LTL with clonal hematopoiesis, biomedical traits, and health-related outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Shi Liu
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Bang-Sheng Wu
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Liu Yang
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Shi-Dong Chen
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Ya-Ru Zhang
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Yue-Ting Deng
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Xin-Rui Wu
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Xiao-Yu He
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
| | - Jing Yang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, 1St Eastern Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Jian-Feng Feng
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Wei Cheng
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Key Laboratory of Computational Neuroscience and Brain-Inspired Intelligence (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Yu-Ming Xu
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, 1St Eastern Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450000, China.
- NHC Key Laboratory of Prevention and Treatment of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Zhengzhou, China.
| | - Jin-Tai Yu
- Department of Neurology and National Center for Neurological Diseases, Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, 12Th Wulumuqi Zhong Road, Shanghai, 200040, China.
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Skåra KH, Lee Y, Jugessur A, Gjessing HK, Aviv A, Brumpton B, Naess Ø, Hernáez Á, Hanevik HI, Magnus P, Magnus MC. Telomere length in relation to fecundability and use of assisted reproductive technologies: the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-4430021. [PMID: 38883734 PMCID: PMC11177952 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4430021/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
In women, shorter telomeres have been reported to be associated with conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, whereas other studies have reported the opposite. In men, studies mostly report associations between shorter telomeres and sperm quality. To our knowledge, no studies have thus far investigated the associations between TL and fecundability or the use of ART. This study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort (MoBa) Study and uses data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN). We included women (24,645 with genotype data and 1,054 with TL measurements) and men (18,339 with genotype data and 965 with TL measurements) participating between 1998 and 2008. We investigated the associations between leukocyte TL and fecundability, infertility, and the use of ART. We also repeated the analyses using instrumental variables for TL, including genetic risk scores for TL and genetically predicted TL. Approximately 11% of couples had experienced infertility and 4% had used ART. TL was not associated with fecundability among women (fecundability ratio [FR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92-1.04) or men (FR, 0.99; CI, 0.93-1.06), nor with infertility among women (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; CI, 0.85-1.24) or men (OR, 1.05; CI, 0.87-1.28). We observed an increased likelihood of using ART with increasing TL among men (OR, 1.22; CI, 1.03-1.46), but not among women (OR, 1.10; CI, 0.92-1.31). No significant associations were observed using the instrumental variables. Our results indicate that TL is a poor biomarker of fecundability, infertility and use of ART in MoBa. Additional studies are required to replicate the association observed between TL and ART in men.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Ben Brumpton
- K.G. Jebsen Centre for Genetic Epidemiology, NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
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Rinne GR, Carroll JE, Guardino CM, Shalowitz MU, Ramey SL, Schetter CD. Parental Preconception Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Maternal Prenatal Inflammation Prospectively Predict Shorter Telomere Length in Children. Psychosom Med 2024; 86:410-421. [PMID: 37594236 PMCID: PMC10879462 DOI: 10.1097/psy.0000000000001241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Parental trauma exposure and trauma-related distress can increase the risk of adverse health outcomes in offspring, but the pathways implicated in intergenerational transmission are not fully explicated. Accelerated biological aging may be one mechanism underlying less favorable health in trauma-exposed individuals and their offspring. This study examines the associations of preconception maternal and paternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms with child telomere length, and maternal prenatal C-reactive protein (CRP) as a biological mechanism. METHODS Mothers ( n = 127) and a subset of the fathers ( n = 84) reported on PTSD symptoms before conception. Mothers provided blood spots in the second and third trimesters that were assayed for CRP. At age 4 years, children provided buccal cells for measurement of telomere length. Models adjusted for parental age, socioeconomic status, maternal prepregnancy body mass index, child biological sex, and child age. RESULTS Mothers' PTSD symptoms were significantly associated with shorter child telomere length ( β = -0.22, SE = 0.10, p = .023). Fathers' PTSD symptoms were also inversely associated with child telomere length ( β = -0.21, SE = 0.11), although nonsignificant ( p = .065). There was no significant indirect effect of mothers' PTSD symptoms on child telomere length through CRP in pregnancy, but higher second-trimester CRP was significantly associated with shorter child telomere length ( β = -0.35, SE = 0.18, p = .048). CONCLUSIONS Maternal symptoms of PTSD before conception and second-trimester inflammation were associated with shorter telomere length in offspring in early childhood, independent of covariates. Findings indicate that intergenerational transmission of parental trauma may occur in part through accelerated biological aging processes and provide further evidence that prenatal proinflammatory processes program child telomere length.Open Science Framework Preregistration:https://osf.io/7c2d5/?view_only=cd0fb81f48db4b8f9c59fc8bb7b0ef97 .
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Judith E. Carroll
- Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, University of California, Los Angeles
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
| | | | | | - Sharon Landesman Ramey
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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Mori JO, Platz EA, Lu J, Brame A, Han M, Joshu CE, De Marzo AM, Meeker AK, Heaphy CM. Longer prostate stromal cell telomere length is associated with increased risk of death from other cancers. Front Med (Lausanne) 2024; 11:1390769. [PMID: 38895181 PMCID: PMC11184561 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1390769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Telomeres are located at chromosomal termini and function to maintain genomic integrity. Telomere dysfunction is a well-recognized contributor to aging and age-related diseases, such as prostate cancer. Since telomere length is highly heritable, we postulate that stromal cell telomere length in the tissue of a particular solid organ may generally reflect constitutive stromal cell telomere length in other solid organs throughout the body. Even with telomere loss occurring with each round of cell replication, in general, telomere length in prostate stromal cells in mid-life would still be correlated with the telomere length in stromal cells in other organs. Thus, we hypothesize that prostate stromal cell telomere length and/or telomere length variability is a potential indicator of the likelihood of developing future solid cancers, beyond prostate cancer, and especially lethal cancer. Methods To explore this hypothesis, we conducted a cohort study analysis of 1,175 men who were surgically treated for prostate cancer and were followed for death, including from causes other than their prostate cancer. Results In this cohort study with a median follow-up of 19 years, we observed that longer prostate stromal cell telomere length measured in tissue microarray spots containing prostate cancer was associated with an increased risk of death from other solid cancers. Variability in telomere length among these prostate stromal cells was possibly positively associated with risk of death from other solid cancers. Conclusion Studying the link between stromal cell telomere length and cancer mortality may be important for guiding the development of cancer interception and prevention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joakin O. Mori
- Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Elizabeth A. Platz
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States
- James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Jiayun Lu
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Alexandria Brame
- James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Misop Han
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States
- James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Corinne E. Joshu
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Angelo M. De Marzo
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States
- James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Alan K. Meeker
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States
- James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Christopher M. Heaphy
- Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
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9
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Tannemann N, Erbel R, Nöthen MM, Jöckel KH, Pechlivanis S. Genetic polymorphisms affecting telomere length and their association with cardiovascular disease in the Heinz-Nixdorf-Recall study. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303357. [PMID: 38743757 PMCID: PMC11093374 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Short telomeres are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to investigate, if genetically determined telomere-length effects CVD-risk in the Heinz-Nixdorf-Recall study (HNRS) population. We selected 14 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with telomere-length (p<10-8) from the literature and after exclusion 9 SNPs were included in the analyses. Additionally, a genetic risk score (GRS) using these 9 SNPs was calculated. Incident CVD was defined as fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary death. We included 3874 HNRS participants with available genetic data and had no known history of CVD at baseline. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to test the association between the SNPs/GRS and incident CVD-risk adjusting for common CVD risk-factors. The analyses were further stratified by CVD risk-factors. During follow-up (12.1±4.31 years), 466 participants experienced CVD-events. No association between SNPs/GRS and CVD was observed in the adjusted analyses. However, the GRS, rs10936599, rs2487999 and rs8105767 increase the CVD-risk in current smoker. Few SNPs (rs10936599, rs2487999, and rs7675998) showed an increased CVD-risk, whereas rs10936599, rs677228 and rs4387287 a decreased CVD-risk, in further strata. The results of our study suggest different effects of SNPs/GRS on CVD-risk depending on the CVD risk-factor strata, highlighting the importance of stratified analyses in CVD risk-factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico Tannemann
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Raimund Erbel
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Markus M. Nöthen
- Department of Genomics, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Karl-Heinz Jöckel
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Sonali Pechlivanis
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, University Hospital of Essen, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Asthma and Allergy Prevention, Neuherberg, Germany
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10
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Brown LM, Elbon MC, Bharadwaj A, Damle G, Lachance J. Does Effective Population Size Govern Evolutionary Differences in Telomere Length? Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae111. [PMID: 38771124 PMCID: PMC11140418 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Lengths of telomeres vary by an order of magnitude across mammalian species. Similarly, age- and sex-standardized telomere lengths differ by up to 1 kb (14%) across human populations. How to explain these differences? Telomeres play a central role in senescence and aging, and genes that affect telomere length are likely under weak selection (i.e. telomere length is a trait that is subject to nearly neutral evolution). Importantly, natural selection is more effective in large populations than in small populations. Here, we propose that observed differences in telomere length across species and populations are largely due to differences in effective population sizes. In this perspective, we present preliminary evolutionary genetic evidence supporting this hypothesis and highlight the need for more data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyda M Brown
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Mia C Elbon
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Ajay Bharadwaj
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Gargi Damle
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Joseph Lachance
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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11
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Pérez Casasús S, Luongo FP, Haxhiu A, Orini M, Scupoli G, Governini L, Piomboni P, Buratini J, Dal Canto M, Luddi A. Paternal Age Amplifies Cryopreservation-Induced Stress in Human Spermatozoa. Cells 2024; 13:625. [PMID: 38607064 PMCID: PMC11011712 DOI: 10.3390/cells13070625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The global fall in male fertility is a complicated process driven by a variety of factors, including environmental exposure, lifestyle, obesity, stress, and aging. The availability of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has allowed older couples to conceive, increasing the average paternal age at first childbirth. Advanced paternal age (APA), most often considered male age ≥40, has been described to impact several aspects of male reproductive physiology. In this prospective cohort study including 200 normozoospermic patients, 105 of whom were ≤35 years (non-APA), and 95 of whom were ≥42 years (APA), we assessed the impact of paternal age on different endpoints representative of sperm quality and cryopreservation tolerance. Non-APA patients had superior fresh semen quality; DNA fragmentation was notably increased in APA as compared to non-APA individuals (21.7% vs. 15.4%). Cryopreservation further increased the DNA fragmentation index in APA (26.7%) but not in non-APA patients. Additionally, APA was associated with increased mtDNAcn in both fresh and frozen/thawed sperm, which is indicative of poorer mitochondrial quality. Cryopreservation negatively impacted acrosome integrity in both age groups, as indicated by reduced incidences of unreacted acrosome in relation to fresh counterparts in non-APA (from 71.5% to 57.7%) and APA patients (from 75% to 63%). Finally, cryopreservation significantly reduced the phosphorylation status of proteins containing tyrosine residues in sperm from young males. Therefore, the present findings shed light on the effects of paternal age and cryopreservation on sperm quality and serve as valuable new parameters to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying sperm developmental competence that are under threat in current ART practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Pérez Casasús
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Francesca Paola Luongo
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Alesandro Haxhiu
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Martina Orini
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Giorgia Scupoli
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Laura Governini
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Paola Piomboni
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Jose Buratini
- Biogenesi Reproductive Medicine Center, Istituti Clinici Zucchi, 20900 Monza, Italy; (J.B.); (M.D.C.)
| | - Mariabeatrice Dal Canto
- Biogenesi Reproductive Medicine Center, Istituti Clinici Zucchi, 20900 Monza, Italy; (J.B.); (M.D.C.)
| | - Alice Luddi
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
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12
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Vaurs M, Dolu EB, Decottignies A. Mitochondria and telomeres: hand in glove. Biogerontology 2024; 25:289-300. [PMID: 37864609 DOI: 10.1007/s10522-023-10074-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
Born as an endosymbiont, the bacteria engulfed by the proto-eukaryotic cell more than 1.45 billion years ago progressively evolved as an important organelle with multiple interactions with the host cell. In particular, strong connections between mitochondria and the chromosome ends, the telomeres, led to propose a new theory of ageing in which dysfunctional telomeres and mitochondria are the main actors of a vicious circle reducing cell fitness and promoting cellular ageing. We review the evidences that oxidative stress and dysfunctional mitochondria damage telomeres and further discuss the interrelationship between telomere biology and mitochondria through the lens of telomerase which shuttles between the nucleus and mitochondria. Finally, we elaborate on the possible role of the mitochondrial genome on the inheritance of human telomere length through the expression of mitochondrial gene variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélina Vaurs
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, Avenue Hippocrate, 1200, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Elif Beyza Dolu
- de Duve Institute, UCLouvain, Avenue Hippocrate, 1200, Brussels, Belgium
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13
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Liu D, Aziz NA, Imtiaz MA, Pehlivan G, Breteler MMB. Associations of measured and genetically predicted leukocyte telomere length with vascular phenotypes: a population-based study. GeroScience 2024; 46:1947-1970. [PMID: 37782440 PMCID: PMC10828293 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00914-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with cardiovascular dysfunction. Whether this association differs between measured and genetically predicted LTL is still unclear. Moreover, the molecular processes underlying the association remain largely unknown. We used baseline data of the Rhineland Study, an ongoing population-based cohort study in Bonn, Germany [56.2% women, age: 55.5 ± 14.0 years (range 30 - 95 years)]. We calculated genetically predicted LTL in 4180 participants and measured LTL in a subset of 1828 participants with qPCR. Using multivariable regression, we examined the association of measured and genetically predicted LTL, and the difference between measured and genetically predicted LTL (ΔLTL), with four vascular functional domains and the overall vascular health. Moreover, we performed epigenome-wide association studies of three LTL measures. Longer measured LTL was associated with better microvascular and cardiac function. Longer predicted LTL was associated with better cardiac function. Larger ΔLTL was associated with better microvascular and cardiac function and overall vascular health, independent of genetically predicted LTL. Several CpGs were associated (p < 1e-05) with measured LTL (n = 5), genetically predicted LTL (n = 8), and ΔLTL (n = 27). Genes whose methylation status was associated with ΔLTL were enriched in vascular endothelial signaling pathways and have been linked to environmental exposures, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality. Our findings suggest that non-genetic causes of LTL contribute to microvascular and cardiac function and overall vascular health, through an effect on the vascular endothelial signaling pathway. Interventions that counteract LTL may thus improve vascular function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Liu
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Population Health Sciences, Bonn, Germany
| | - N Ahmad Aziz
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Population Health Sciences, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Mohammed Aslam Imtiaz
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Population Health Sciences, Bonn, Germany
| | - Gökhan Pehlivan
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Population Health Sciences, Bonn, Germany
| | - Monique M B Breteler
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Population Health Sciences, Bonn, Germany.
- Institute for Medical Biometry, Informatics and Epidemiology (IMBIE), Faculty of Medicine, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
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14
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Bosquet Enlow M, De Vivo I, Petty CR, Nelson CA. Temperament and sex as moderating factors of the effects of exposure to maternal depression on telomere length in early childhood. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-14. [PMID: 38426330 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579424000518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Individual differences in sensitivity to context are posited to emerge early in development and to influence the effects of environmental exposures on a range of developmental outcomes. The goal of the current study was to examine the hypothesis that temperament characteristics and biological sex confer differential vulnerability to the effects of exposure to maternal depression on telomere length in early childhood. Telomere length has emerged as a potentially important biomarker of current and future health, with possible mechanistic involvement in the onset of various disease states. Participants comprised a community sample of children followed from infancy to age 3 years. Relative telomere length was assessed from DNA in saliva samples collected at infancy, 2 years, and 3 years. Maternal depressive symptoms and the child temperament traits of negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion, and regulation/effortful control were assessed via maternal report at each timepoint. Analyses revealed a 3-way interaction among surgency/extraversion, sex, and maternal depressive symptoms, such that higher surgency/extraversion was associated with shorter telomere length specifically among males exposed to elevated maternal depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that temperament and sex influence children's susceptibility to the effects of maternal depression on telomere dynamics in early life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Bosquet Enlow
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Immaculata De Vivo
- Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Carter R Petty
- Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Graduate School of Education, Boston, MA, USA
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15
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Salih AM, Galazzo IB, Menegaz G, Altmann A. Leukocyte Telomere Length and Cardiac Structure and Function: A Mendelian Randomization Study. J Am Heart Assoc 2024; 13:e032708. [PMID: 38293941 PMCID: PMC11056120 DOI: 10.1161/jaha.123.032708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Existing research demonstrates the association of shorter leukocyte telomere length with increased risk of age-related health outcomes including cardiovascular diseases. However, the direct causality of these relationships has not been definitively established. Cardiovascular aging at an organ level may be captured using image-derived phenotypes of cardiac anatomy and function. METHODS AND RESULTS In the current study, we use 2-sample Mendelian randomization to assess the causal link between leukocyte telomere length and 54 cardiac magnetic resonance imaging measures representing structure and function across the 4 cardiac chambers. Genetically predicted shorter leukocyte telomere length was causally linked to smaller ventricular cavity sizes including left ventricular end-systolic volume, left ventricular end-diastolic volume, lower left ventricular mass, and pulmonary artery. The association with left ventricular mass (β =0.217, Pfalse discovery rate=0.016) remained significant after multiple testing adjustment, whereas other associations were attenuated. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support a causal role for shorter leukocyte telomere length and faster cardiac aging, with the most prominent relationship with left ventricular mass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M. Salih
- William Harvey Research Institute, NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre, Queen Mary University of LondonUK
- Department of Population Health SciencesUniversity of LeicesterUK
- Department of Computer ScienceUniversity of ZakhoKurdistan of IraqIraq
| | | | | | - André Altmann
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical EngineeringUniversity College LondonUK
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16
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Wang D, Li C, Zhang X, Li Y, He J, Guo X. Leukocyte telomere length and sarcopenia-related traits: A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0296063. [PMID: 38166034 PMCID: PMC10760921 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Accumulating evidence indicated that leukocyte telomere length (LTL) was related to sarcopenia. However, it is still not clear whether the association of changes in LTL with sarcopenia is likely to be causal, or could be explained by reverse causality. Thus, we carried on bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) and multivariable MR analyses to identify the causal relationship between LTL and sarcopenia-related traits. Summary-level data and independent variants used as instruments came from large genome-wide association studies of LTL (472,174 participants), appendicular lean mass (450,243 participants), low grip strength (256,523 participants), and walking pace (450,967 participants). We identified suggestive association of longer LTL with larger appendicular lean mass [odds ratio (OR) = 1.053; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.009-1.099; P = 0.018], and causal association of longer LTL with a lower risk of low grip strength (OR = 0.915; 95% CI, 0.860-0.974; P = 0.005). In the reverse MR analysis, we also observed a positive causal association between walking pace and LTL (OR = 1.252; 95% CI, 1.121-1.397; P < 0.001). Similar results can be repeated in sensitivity analyses. While in the multivariable MR analysis, the estimate of the impact of walking pace on LTL underwent a transformation after adjusting for T2DM (OR = 1.141; 95%CI: 0.989-1.317; P = 0.070). The current MR analysis supported a causal relationship between shorter telomere length and both low muscle mass and strength. Additionally, walking pace may affect LTL through T2DM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dingkun Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chenhao Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xinwen Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yihao Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
| | - Junhua He
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoming Guo
- Department of Neurosurgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Neurosurgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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17
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Pérez-López FR, López-Baena MT, Ulloque-Badaracco JR, Benites-Zapata VA. Telomere Length in Patients with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Normoglycemic Pregnant Women: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Reprod Sci 2024; 31:45-55. [PMID: 37491556 PMCID: PMC10784358 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-023-01306-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies assessing telomere length in blood leukocytes or mononuclear cells in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and normoglycemic pregnant women (NPW) and their infants. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022300950). Searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, LILACS, CNKI, and Wang Fang, from inception through November 2022. The primary outcomes were maternal and offspring telomere length. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of included studies. Random-effect meta-analyses were applied to estimate standardized mean differences (SMDs) and their 95% confidence interval (CI). The meta-analysis of four studies showed no significant maternal telomere length difference (SMD = -0.80, 95% CI: -1.66, 0.05) in women with GDM compared to NPW. In the sensibility analysis omitting one study with a small sample of women, the telomere length becomes significantly reduced in women with GDM (SMD = -1.10, 95% CI: -2.18, -0.02). GDM patients had increased glucose (SMD = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.46) and glycosylated hemoglobin than NPW (SMD = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.23, 1.01) while total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides did not display differences between women with and without GDM. There was no significant difference in cord blood telomere length in offspring from women with GDM and NPW (SMD = 0.11, 95% CI: -0.52, 0.30). Cord blood insulin levels (SMD = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.85) and birthweight (SMD = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.79) were higher in offspring from pregnant women with GDM than in those from NPW. There were no significant differences in maternal and offspring telomere length between pregnancies with and without GDM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faustino R Pérez-López
- Universty of Zaragoza Faculty of Medicine, Domingo Miral s/n, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain.
- Health Outcomes and Systematic Analyses Research Unit, Aragón Health Research Institute, San Juan Bosco 13, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - María T López-Baena
- Health Outcomes and Systematic Analyses Research Unit, Aragón Health Research Institute, San Juan Bosco 13, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain
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18
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Lis N, Lamnisos D, Bograkou-Tzanetakou A, Hadjimbei E, Tzanetakou IP. Preterm Birth and Its Association with Maternal Diet, and Placental and Neonatal Telomere Length. Nutrients 2023; 15:4975. [PMID: 38068836 PMCID: PMC10708229 DOI: 10.3390/nu15234975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB), a multi-causal syndrome, is one of the global epidemics. Maternal nutrition, but also neonatal and placental telomere length (TL), are among the factors affecting PTB risk. However, the exact relationship between these factors and the PTB outcome, remains obscure. The aim of this review was to investigate the association between PTB, maternal nutrition, and placental-infant TL. Observational studies were sought with the keywords: maternal nutrition, placental TL, newborn, TL, and PTB. No studies were found that included all of the keywords simultaneously, and thus, the keywords were searched in dyads, to reach assumptive conclusions. The findings show that maternal nutrition affects PTB risk, through its influence on maternal TL. On the other hand, maternal TL independently affects PTB risk, and at the same time PTB is a major determinant of offspring TL regulation. The strength of the associations, and the extent of the influence from covariates, remains to be elucidated in future research. Furthermore, the question of whether maternal TL is simply a biomarker of maternal nutritional status and PTB risk, or a causative factor of PTB, to date, remains to be answered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikoletta Lis
- Department of Health Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus; (N.L.); (D.L.)
- Maternity Clinic, Cork University Maternity Hospital, T12 YE02 Cork, Ireland
| | - Demetris Lamnisos
- Department of Health Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus; (N.L.); (D.L.)
| | | | - Elena Hadjimbei
- Department of Life Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus;
| | - Irene P. Tzanetakou
- Department of Life Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia 2404, Cyprus;
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19
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Gold NM, Okeke MN, He Y. Involvement of Inheritance in Determining Telomere Length beyond Environmental and Lifestyle Factors. Aging Dis 2023:AD.2023.1023. [PMID: 37962459 DOI: 10.14336/ad.2023.1023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
All linear chromosomal ends have specific DNA-protein complexes called telomeres. Telomeres serve as a "molecular clock" to estimate the potential length of cell replication. Shortening of telomere length (TL) is associated with cellular senescence, aging, and various age-related diseases in humans. Here we reviewed the structure, function, and regulation of telomeres and the age-related diseases associated with telomere attrition. Among the various determinants of TL, we highlight the connection between TL and heredity to provide a new overview of genetic determinants for TL. Studies across multiple species have shown that maternal and paternal TL influence the TL of their offspring, and this may affect life span and their susceptibility to age-related diseases. Hence, we reviewed the linkage between TL and parental influences and the proposed mechanisms involved. More in-depth studies on the genetic mechanism for TL attrition are needed due to the potential application of this knowledge in human medicine to prevent premature frailty at its earliest stage, as well as promote health and longevity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naheemat Modupeola Gold
- Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic, Evolution and Animal Models, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Michael Ngozi Okeke
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Center for Nanomedical Technology Research, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yonghan He
- Key Laboratory of Healthy Aging Research of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic, Evolution and Animal Models, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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20
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Prasad A, Lin J, Jelliffe-Pawlowski L, Coleman-Phox K, Rand L, Wojcicki JM. Sub-optimal maternal gestational gain is associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length at birth in a predominantly Latinx cohort of newborns. Matern Health Neonatol Perinatol 2023; 9:14. [PMID: 37919818 PMCID: PMC10623801 DOI: 10.1186/s40748-023-00167-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess in utero exposures associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) at birth and maternal LTL in a primarily Latinx birth cohort. STUDY DESIGN Mothers and newborns were recruited postnatally before 24 h of life. Newborn LTL was collected via heelstick at birth and maternal LTL was collected postnatally. LTL was determined by quantitative PCR. Using a longitudinal design, we evaluated associations between neonatal and maternal LTL and appropriate maternal gestational gain as indicated by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). RESULT Mean infant LTL was 2.02 ± 0.30 T/S (n = 386) and maternal LTL was 1.54 ± 0.26 T/S (n = 58). Independent risk factors for shorter LTL at birth included longer gestational duration (Coeff:-0.03, 95%CI: -0.05-0.01;p < 0.01) and maternal gestational weight gain below ACOG recommendations (Coeff:-0.10, 95%CI: -0.18 - -0.02; p = 0.01). CONCLUSION Gestational weight gain below ACOG recommendations may adversely impact neonatal health in Latinx infants as indicated by shorter LTL at birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apurva Prasad
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Jue Lin
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski
- Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California, San Francisco, USA
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Kimberley Coleman-Phox
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Larry Rand
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Janet M Wojcicki
- Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
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21
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Zhang N, Baker EC, Welsh TH, Riley DG. Telomere Dynamics in Livestock. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1389. [PMID: 37997988 PMCID: PMC10669808 DOI: 10.3390/biology12111389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres are repeated sequences of nucleotides at the end of chromosomes. They deteriorate across mitotic divisions of a cell. In Homo sapiens this process of lifetime reduction has been shown to correspond with aspects of organismal aging and exposure to stress or other insults. The early impetus to characterize telomere dynamics in livestock related to the concern that aged donor DNA would result in earlier cell senescence and overall aging in cloned animals. Telomere length investigations in dairy cows included breed effects, estimates of additive genetic control (heritability 0.12 to 0.46), and effects of external stressors on telomere degradation across animal life. Evaluation of telomeres with respect to aging has also been conducted in pigs and horses, and there are fewer reports of telomere biology in beef cattle, sheep, and goats. There were minimal associations of telomere length with animal productivity measures. Most, but not all, work in livestock has documented an inverse relationship between peripheral blood cell telomere length and age; that is, a longer telomere length was associated with younger age. Because livestock longevity affects productivity and profitability, the role of tissue-specific telomere attrition in aging may present alternative improvement strategies for genetic improvement while also providing translational biomedical knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Zhang
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (N.Z.); (T.H.W.J.)
| | - Emilie C. Baker
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX 79016, USA;
| | - Thomas H. Welsh
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (N.Z.); (T.H.W.J.)
- Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX 77843, USA
| | - David G. Riley
- Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; (N.Z.); (T.H.W.J.)
- Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX 77843, USA
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22
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Sullivan SM, Cole B, Lane J, Meredith JJ, Langer E, Hooten AJ, Roesler M, McGraw KL, Pankratz N, Poynter JN. Predicted leukocyte telomere length and risk of myeloid neoplasms. Hum Mol Genet 2023; 32:2996-3005. [PMID: 37531260 PMCID: PMC10549790 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddad126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Maintenance of telomere length has long been established to play a role in the biology of cancer and several studies suggest that it may be especially important in myeloid malignancies. To overcome potential bias in confounding and reverse causation of observational studies, we use both a polygenic risk score (PRS) and inverse-variance weighted (IVW) Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to estimate the relationship between genetically predicted leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) risk in 498 cases and 2099 controls and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) risk in 610 cases and 1759 controls. Genetic instruments derived from four recent studies explaining 1.23-4.57% of telomere variability were considered. We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR, 95% confidence intervals [CI]) as the measure of association between individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms and myeloid malignancies. We observed a significant association between a PRS of longer predicted LTL and AML using three genetic instruments (OR = 4.03 per ~1200 base pair [bp] increase in LTL, 95% CI: 1.65, 9.85 using Codd et al. [Codd, V., Nelson, C.P., Albrecht, E., Mangino, M., Deelen, J., Buxton, J.L., Hottenga, J.J., Fischer, K., Esko, T., Surakka, I. et al. (2013) Identification of seven loci affecting mean telomere length and their association with disease. Nat. Genet., 45, 422-427 427e421-422.], OR = 3.48 per one-standard deviation increase in LTL, 95% CI: 1.74, 6.97 using Li et al. [Li, C., Stoma, S., Lotta, L.A., Warner, S., Albrecht, E., Allione, A., Arp, P.P., Broer, L., Buxton, J.L., Alves, A.D.S.C. et al. (2020) Genome-wide association analysis in humans links nucleotide metabolism to leukocyte telomere length. Am. J. Hum. Genet., 106, 389-404.] and OR = 2.59 per 1000 bp increase in LTL, 95% CI: 1.03, 6.52 using Taub et al. [Taub, M.A., Conomos, M.P., Keener, R., Iyer, K.R., Weinstock, J.S., Yanek, L.R., Lane, J., Miller-Fleming, T.W., Brody, J.A., Raffield, L.M. et al. (2022) Genetic determinants of telomere length from 109,122 ancestrally diverse whole-genome sequences in TOPMed. Cell Genom., 2.] genetic instruments). MR analyses further indicated an association between LTL and AML risk (PIVW ≤ 0.049) but not MDS (all PIVW ≥ 0.076). Findings suggest variation in genes relevant to telomere function and maintenance may be important in the etiology of AML but not MDS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon M Sullivan
- Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Ben Cole
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - John Lane
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - John J Meredith
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Erica Langer
- Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Anthony J Hooten
- Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Michelle Roesler
- Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Kathy L McGraw
- Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Nathan Pankratz
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Jenny N Poynter
- Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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23
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Mutz J, Lewis CM. Telomere Length Associations With Clinical Diagnosis, Age, and Polygenic Risk Scores for Anxiety Disorder, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 3:1012-1020. [PMID: 37881560 PMCID: PMC10593885 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.08.008] [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: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Accelerated biological aging might contribute to the lower life expectancy of individuals with mental disorders. The aim of this study was to characterize telomere length, a biological hallmark of aging, in individuals with mental disorders. Methods The UK Biobank is a multicenter community-based observational study that recruited >500,000 middle-aged and older adults. Average leukocyte telomere length (telomere repeat copy number/single-copy gene ratio) was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were calculated for individuals of European ancestry. We estimated differences in telomere length between individuals with anxiety disorder, depression, or bipolar disorder and people without mental disorders and examined associations with psychotropic medication use, age, and PRSs for these 3 disorders. Results The analyses included up to 308,725 participants. Individuals with depression had shorter telomeres than people without mental disorders (β = -0.011, 95% CI, -0.019 to -0.004, Bonferroni-corrected p = .027). Associations between bipolar disorder and telomere length differed by lithium use. There was limited evidence that individuals with an anxiety disorder had shorter telomeres. There was no evidence that associations between age and telomere length differed between individuals with and without these disorders. PRSs for depression, but not anxiety disorder or bipolar disorder, were associated with shorter telomeres (β = -0.006, 95% CI, -0.010 to -0.003, Bonferroni-corrected p = .001). Conclusions Differences in telomere length were observed primarily for individuals with depression or bipolar disorder and in individuals with a higher PRS for depression. There was no evidence that the association between age and telomere length differed between individuals with and without an anxiety disorder, depression, or bipolar disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Mutz
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Cathryn M. Lewis
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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24
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Zhang JL, Lv M, Yang CF, Zhu YX, Li CJ. Mevalonate pathway and male reproductive aging. Mol Reprod Dev 2023; 90:774-781. [PMID: 37733694 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Male fertility declines with age. The mevalonate pathway, through which cholesterol and nonsteroidal isoprenoids are synthesized, plays key role in metabolic processes and is an essential pathway for cholesterol production and protein prenylation. Male reproductive aging is accompanied by dramatic changes in the metabolic microenvironment of the testis. Since the mevalonate pathway has an important role in spermatogenesis, we attempted to explore the association between male reproductive aging and the mevalonate pathway to explain the mechanism of male reproductive aging. Alterations in the mevalonate pathway may affect male reproductive aging by decreasing cholesterol synthesis and altering testis protein prenylation. Decreased cholesterol levels affect cholesterol modification, testosterone production, and remodeling of germ cell membranes. Aging-related metabolic disorders also affect the metabolic coupling between somatic cells and spermatogenic cells, leading to male fertility decline. Therefore, we hypothesized that alterations in the mevalonate pathway represent one of the metabolic causes of reproductive aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Le Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and China International Joint Research Center on Environment and Human Health, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Meng Lv
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and China International Joint Research Center on Environment and Human Health, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chao-Fan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and China International Joint Research Center on Environment and Human Health, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ying-Xi Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and China International Joint Research Center on Environment and Human Health, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chao-Jun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine and China International Joint Research Center on Environment and Human Health, Center for Global Health, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
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25
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Mayer SE, Guan J, Lin J, Hamlat E, Parker JE, Brownell K, Price C, Mujahid M, Tomiyama AJ, Slavich GM, Laraia BA, Epel ES. Intergenerational effects of maternal lifetime stressor exposure on offspring telomere length in Black and White women. Psychol Med 2023; 53:6171-6182. [PMID: 36457292 PMCID: PMC10235210 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722003397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although maternal stressor exposure has been associated with shorter telomere length (TL) in offspring, this literature is based largely on White samples. Furthermore, timing of maternal stressors has rarely been examined. Here, we examined how maternal stressors occurring during adolescence, pregnancy, and across the lifespan related to child TL in Black and White mothers. METHOD Mothers (112 Black; 110 White; Mage = 39) and their youngest offspring (n = 222; Mage = 8) were part of a larger prospective cohort study, wherein mothers reported their stressors during adolescence (assessed twice during adolescence for the past year), pregnancy (assessed in midlife for most recent pregnancy), and across their lifespan (assessed in midlife). Mother and child provided saliva for TL measurement. Multiple linear regression models examined the interaction of maternal stressor exposure and race in relation to child TL, controlling for maternal TL and child gender and age. Race-stratified analyses were also conducted. RESULTS Neither maternal adolescence nor lifespan stressors interacted with race in relation to child TL. In contrast, greater maternal pregnancy stressors were associated with shorter child TL, but this effect was present for children of White but not Black mothers. Moreover, this effect was significant for financial but not social pregnancy stressors. Race-stratified models revealed that greater financial pregnancy stressors predicted shorter telomeres in offspring of White, but not Black mothers. CONCLUSIONS Race and maternal stressors interact and are related to biological aging across generations, but these effects are specific to certain races, stressors, and exposure time periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie E. Mayer
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, USA
| | - Joanna Guan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, USA
| | - Jue Lin
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Elissa Hamlat
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, USA
| | - Jordan E. Parker
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Kristy Brownell
- School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Candice Price
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Mahasin Mujahid
- School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - A. Janet Tomiyama
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - George M. Slavich
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Barbara A. Laraia
- School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Elissa S. Epel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, USA
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26
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Chi Z, Bai X, Zhang Z. Risk relationship between leukocyte telomere length and constipation: a Mendelian randomization study. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1177785. [PMID: 37780571 PMCID: PMC10533926 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1177785] [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: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Some epidemiological studies have investigated the associations between aging and constipation, yet their outcomes are inconclusive, so we strive to ascertain whether aging is the cause of constipation. Methods We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using publicly accessible genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics. As a marker of cellular and biological aging, we employed 15 single-nucleotide polymorphisms as instrumental variables for leukocyte telomere length (LTL) as exposure and a GWAS for constipation in the Finnish database as an outcome. To select the instrumental variables strongly associated with the phenotype, we eliminated confounding factors and direct effects outcomes to determine the causal relationship of exposure factors on the outcome; the analysis was mainly performed using the random-effect inverse variance weighting method, MR-Egger, weighted median, and sensitivity analysis of the results. Results Random effect inverse variance weighted odds ratio = 1.035 (95% CI 0.907-1.180), but p = 0.612, which was not statistically significant. Other statistical methods, such as MR-Egger and weighted median, also yielded non-significant results. Conclusion LTL as a proxy for aging does not necessarily indicate an increased likelihood of constipation. Further research is needed to explore the specific mechanisms of constipation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenfei Chi
- Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Xuesong Bai
- Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
- Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
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Peka M, Balatsky V, Saienko A, Tsereniuk O. Bioinformatic analysis of the effect of SNPs in the pig TERT gene on the structural and functional characteristics of the enzyme to develop new genetic markers of productivity traits. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:487. [PMID: 37626279 PMCID: PMC10463782 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09592-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) plays a crucial role in synthesizing telomeric repeats that safeguard chromosomes from damage and fusion, thereby maintaining genome stability. Mutations in the TERT gene can lead to a deviation in gene expression, impaired enzyme activity, and, as a result, abnormal telomere shortening. Genetic markers of productivity traits in livestock can be developed based on the TERT gene polymorphism for use in marker-associated selection (MAS). In this study, a bioinformatic-based approach is proposed to evaluate the effect of missense single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the pig TERT gene on enzyme function and structure, with the prospect of developing genetic markers. RESULTS A comparative analysis of the coding and amino acid sequences of the pig TERT was performed with corresponding sequences of other species. The distribution of polymorphisms in the pig TERT gene, with respect to the enzyme's structural-functional domains, was established. A three-dimensional model of the pig TERT structure was obtained through homological modeling. The potential impact of each of the 23 missense SNPs in the pig TERT gene on telomerase function and stability was assessed using predictive bioinformatic tools utilizing data on the amino acid sequence and structure of pig TERT. CONCLUSIONS According to bioinformatic analysis of 23 missense SNPs of the pig TERT gene, a predictive effect of rs789641834 (TEN domain), rs706045634 (TEN domain), rs325294961 (TRBD domain) and rs705602819 (RTD domain) on the structural and functional parameters of the enzyme was established. These SNPs hold the potential to serve as genetic markers of productivity traits. Therefore, the possibility of their application in MAS should be further evaluated in associative analysis studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mykyta Peka
- Institute of Pig Breeding and Agroindustrial Production, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Shvedska Mohyla St, Poltava, 36013 Ukraine
- V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq, Kharkiv, 61022 Ukraine
| | - Viktor Balatsky
- Institute of Pig Breeding and Agroindustrial Production, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Shvedska Mohyla St, Poltava, 36013 Ukraine
- V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 4 Svobody Sq, Kharkiv, 61022 Ukraine
| | - Artem Saienko
- Institute of Pig Breeding and Agroindustrial Production, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Shvedska Mohyla St, Poltava, 36013 Ukraine
| | - Oleksandr Tsereniuk
- Institute of Pig Breeding and Agroindustrial Production, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Shvedska Mohyla St, Poltava, 36013 Ukraine
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28
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Tang L, Li D, Wang J, Su B, Tian Y. Ambient air pollution, genetic risk and telomere length in UK biobank. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 2023:10.1038/s41370-023-00587-1. [PMID: 37550565 DOI: 10.1038/s41370-023-00587-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of genomic aging. The evidence on the association between TL and air pollution was inconsistent. Besides, the modification effect of genetic susceptibility on the air pollution-TL association remains unknown. OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the association of ambient air pollution with TL and further assess the modification effect of genetic susceptibility. METHODS 433,535 participants with complete data of TL and air pollutants in UK Biobank were included. Annual average exposure of NO2, NOx, PM10 and PM2.5 was estimated by applying land use regression models. Genetic risk score (GRS) was constructed using reported telomere-related SNPs. Leukocyte TL was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Multivariable linear regression models were employed to conduct associational analyses. RESULTS Categorical exposure models and RCS models both indicated U-shaped (for NO2 and NOx) and L-shaped (for PM10 and PM2.5) correlations between air pollution and TL. In comparison to the lowest quartile, the 2nd and 3rd quartile of NO2 (q2: -1.3% [-2.1%, -0.4%]; q3: -1.2% [-2.0%, -0.3%], NOx (q2: -1.3% [-2.1%, -0.5%]; q3: -1.4% [-2.2%, -0.5%]), PM2.5 (q2: -0.8% [-1.7%, 0.0%]; q3: -1.3% [-2.2%, -0.5%]), and the third quartile of PM10 (q3: -1.1% [-1.9%, -0.2%]) were inversely associated with TL. The highest quartile of NO2 was positively correlated with TL (q4: 1.0% [0.0%, 2.0%]), whereas the negative correlation between the highest quartile of other pollutants and TL was also attenuated and no longer significant. In the genetic analyses, synergistic interactions were observed between the 4th quartile of three air pollutants (NO2, NOx, and PM2.5) and genetic risk. IMPACT STATEMENT Our study for the first time revealed a non-linear trend for the association between air pollution and telomere length. The genetic analyses suggested synergistic interactions between air pollution and genetic risk on the air pollution-TL association. These findings may shed new light on air pollution's health effects, offer suggestions for identifying at-risk individuals, and provide hints regarding further investigation into gene-environment interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linxi Tang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China
| | - Dankang Li
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China
| | - Jianing Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China
| | - Binbin Su
- School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College, No.31, Beijige-3, Dongcheng District, 100730, Beijing, China.
| | - Yaohua Tian
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubating), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China.
- Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No.13 Hangkong Road, 430030, Wuhan, China.
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Gurvich C, Thomas N, Hudaib AR, Van Rheenen TE, Thomas EHX, Tan EJ, Neill E, Carruthers SP, Sumner PJ, Romano-Silva M, Bozaoglu K, Kulkarni J, Rossell SL. The relationship between cognitive clusters and telomere length in bipolar-schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Psychol Med 2023; 53:5119-5126. [PMID: 35920237 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722002148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are complex mental illnesses that are associated with cognitive deficits. There is considerable cognitive heterogeneity that exists within both disorders. Studies that cluster schizophrenia and bipolar patients into subgroups based on their cognitive profile increasingly demonstrate that, relative to healthy controls, there is a severely compromised subgroup and a relatively intact subgroup. There is emerging evidence that telomere shortening, a marker of cellular senescence, may be associated with cognitive impairments. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between cognitive subgroups in bipolar-schizophrenia spectrum disorders and telomere length against a healthy control sample. METHODS Participants included a transdiagnostic group diagnosed with bipolar, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (n = 73) and healthy controls (n = 113). Cognitive clusters within the transdiagnostic patient group, were determined using K-means cluster analysis based on current cognitive functioning (MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery scores). Telomere length was determined using quantitative PCRs genomic DNA extracted from whole blood. Emergent clusters were then compared to the healthy control group on telomere length. RESULTS Two clusters emerged within the patient group that were deemed to reflect a relatively intact cognitive group and a cognitively impaired subgroup. Telomere length was significantly shorter in the severely impaired cognitive subgroup compared to the healthy control group. CONCLUSIONS This study replicates previous findings of transdiagnostic cognitive subgroups and associates shorter telomere length with the severely impaired cognitive subgroup. These findings support emerging literature associating cognitive impairments in psychiatric disorders to accelerated cellular aging as indexed by telomere length.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Gurvich
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Natalie Thomas
- Department of Biochemistry & Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne VIC, Australia
| | - Abdul-Rahman Hudaib
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Tamsyn E Van Rheenen
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Elizabeth H X Thomas
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Eric J Tan
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Mental Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Erica Neill
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Mental Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sean P Carruthers
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Philip J Sumner
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Marco Romano-Silva
- Department Saude Mental, Faculdade de Medicina, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Kiymet Bozaoglu
- Bruce Lefroy Centre for Genetic Health Research, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jayashri Kulkarni
- Department of Psychiatry, Central Clinical School, Monash University and the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Susan L Rossell
- Centre for Mental Health, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Mental Health, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Kerns SL, Hall WA, Marples B, West CML. Normal Tissue Toxicity Prediction: Clinical Translation on the Horizon. Semin Radiat Oncol 2023; 33:307-316. [PMID: 37331785 DOI: 10.1016/j.semradonc.2023.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Improvements in radiotherapy delivery have enabled higher therapeutic doses and improved efficacy, contributing to the growing number of long-term cancer survivors. These survivors are at risk of developing late toxicity from radiotherapy, and the inability to predict who is most susceptible results in substantial impact on quality of life and limits further curative dose escalation. A predictive assay or algorithm for normal tissue radiosensitivity would allow more personalized treatment planning, reducing the burden of late toxicity, and improving the therapeutic index. Progress over the last 10 years has shown that the etiology of late clinical radiotoxicity is multifactorial and informs development of predictive models that combine information on treatment (eg, dose, adjuvant treatment), demographic and health behaviors (eg, smoking, age), co-morbidities (eg, diabetes, collagen vascular disease), and biology (eg, genetics, ex vivo functional assays). AI has emerged as a useful tool and is facilitating extraction of signal from large datasets and development of high-level multivariable models. Some models are progressing to evaluation in clinical trials, and we anticipate adoption of these into the clinical workflow in the coming years. Information on predicted risk of toxicity could prompt modification of radiotherapy delivery (eg, use of protons, altered dose and/or fractionation, reduced volume) or, in rare instances of very high predicted risk, avoidance of radiotherapy. Risk information can also be used to assist treatment decision-making for cancers where efficacy of radiotherapy is equivalent to other treatments (eg, low-risk prostate cancer) and can be used to guide follow-up screening in instances where radiotherapy is still the best choice to maximize tumor control probability. Here, we review promising predictive assays for clinical radiotoxicity and highlight studies that are progressing to develop an evidence base for clinical utility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Kerns
- Department of Radiation Oncology, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
| | - William A Hall
- Department of Radiation Oncology, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
| | - Brian Marples
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY
| | - Catharine M L West
- Division of Cancer Sciences, the University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Christie Hospital, Manchester, UK
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Francis M, Lindrose A, O'Connell S, Tristano RI, McGarvey C, Drury S. The interaction of socioeconomic stress and race on telomere length in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis. SSM Popul Health 2023; 22:101380. [PMID: 37065841 PMCID: PMC10102414 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Rationale Proposed mechanisms relating early life exposures to poor health suggest that biologic indicators of risk are observable in childhood. Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of aging, psychosocial stress, and a range of environmental exposures. In adults, exposure to early life adversity, including low socioeconomic status (SES), is predictive of shorter TL. However, results in pediatric populations have been mixed. Defining the true relation between TL and SES in childhood is expected to enhance the understanding of the biological pathways through which socioeconomic factors influence health across the life span. Objective The aim of this meta-analysis was to systematically review and quantitatively assess the published literature to better understand how SES, race, and TL are related in pediatric populations. Methods Studies in the United States in any pediatric population with any measure of SES were included and identified through the following electronic databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Medline, Socindex, CINAHL, and Psychinfo. Analysis utilized a multi-level random-effects meta-analysis accounting for multiple effect sizes within a study. Results Thirty-two studies were included with a total of 78 effect sizes that were categorized into income-based, education-based, and composite indicators. Only three studies directly tested the relation between SES and TL as the primary study aim. In the full model, there was a significant relation between SES and TL (r = 0.0220 p = 0.0286). Analysis by type of SES categorization identified a significant moderating effect of income on TL (r = 0.0480, 95% CI: 0.0155 to 0.0802, p = 0.0045) but no significant effect for education or composite SES. Conclusions There is an overall association between SES and TL that is predominately due to the association with income-based SES measures implicating income disparities as a key target for efforts to address health inequity across the life span. Identification of associations between family income and biological changes in children that predict life-span health risk provides key data to support public health policies addressing economic inequality in families and presents a unique opportunity to assess the effect of prevention efforts at the biologic level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariza Francis
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane Brain Institute and School of Science and Engineering, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Alyssa Lindrose
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
| | - Samantha O'Connell
- Office of Academic Affairs and Provost, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Renee I. Tristano
- Department of Pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
| | - Cecile McGarvey
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane Brain Institute and School of Science and Engineering, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - Stacy Drury
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Tulane Brain Institute and School of Science and Engineering, Tulane University, 6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA, USA
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Tulane University School of Medicine, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA.
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32
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Bountziouka V, Nelson CP, Wang Q, Musicha C, Codd V, Samani NJ. Dietary Patterns and Practices and Leucocyte Telomere Length: Findings from the UK Biobank. J Acad Nutr Diet 2023; 123:912-922.e26. [PMID: 36669753 DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2023.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Shorter telomere length (TL) is associated with risk of several age-related diseases and decreased life span, but the extent to which dietary patterns and practices associate with TL is uncertain. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the association of dietary patterns and practices and leucocyte TL (LTL). DESIGN This was a cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Data collected voluntarily from up to 422,797 UK Biobank participants, during 2006-2010. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES LTL was measured as a ratio of the telomere repeat number to a single-copy gene and was loge-transformed and standardized (z-LTL). STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED Adherence a priori to a Mediterranean-style diet was assessed through the MedDietScore. Principal component analysis was used to a posteriori extract the "Meat" and "Prudent" dietary patterns. Additional dietary practices considered were the self-reported adherence to "Vegetarian" diet, "Eating 5-a-day of fruit and vegetables" and "Abstaining from eggs/dairy/wheat/sugar." Associations between quintiles of dietary patterns or adherence to dietary practices with z-LTL were investigated through multivariable linear regression models (adjusted for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics). RESULTS Adherence to the "Mediterranean" and the "Prudent" patterns, was positively associated with LTL, with an effect magnitude in z-LTL of 0.020 SD and 0.014 SD, respectively, for the highest vs the lowest quintile of adherence to the pattern (both P values < 0.05). Conversely, a reversed association between quintile of the "Meat" pattern and LTL was observed, with z-LTL being on average shorter by 0.025 SD (P = 6.12×10-05) for participants in the highest quintile of the pattern compared with the lowest quintile. For adherents to "5-a-day" z-LTL was on average longer by 0.027 SD (P = 5.36×10-09), and for "abstainers," LTL was shorter by 0.016 SD (P = 2.51×10-04). The association of LTL with a vegetarian diet was nonsignificant after adjustment for demographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Several dietary patterns and practices associated with beneficial health effects are significantly associated with longer LTL. However, the magnitude of the association was small, and any clinical relevance is uncertain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Bountziouka
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, United Kingdom; Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of the Aegean, Lemnos, Greece.
| | - Christopher P Nelson
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Qingning Wang
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Crispin Musicha
- Peninsula Medical School, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom
| | - Veryan Codd
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Nilesh J Samani
- Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom; National Institute for Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, United Kingdom
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Roka K, Solomou EE, Kattamis A. Telomere biology: from disorders to hematological diseases. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1167848. [PMID: 37274248 PMCID: PMC10235513 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1167848] [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: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Variations in the length of telomeres and pathogenic variants involved in telomere length maintenance have been correlated with several human diseases. Recent breakthroughs in telomere biology knowledge have contributed to the identification of illnesses named "telomeropathies" and revealed an association between telomere length and disease outcome. This review emphasizes the biology and physiology aspects of telomeres and describes prototype diseases in which telomeres are implicated in their pathophysiology. We also provide information on the role of telomeres in hematological diseases ranging from bone marrow failure syndromes to acute and chronic leukemias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kleoniki Roka
- Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, First Department of Pediatrics, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, Full Member of ERN GENTURIS, Athens, Greece
| | - Elena E. Solomou
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Patras Medical School, Rion, Greece
| | - Antonis Kattamis
- Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, First Department of Pediatrics, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, Full Member of ERN GENTURIS, Athens, Greece
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Schreglmann SR, Goncalves T, Grant-Peters M, Kia DA, Soreq L, Ryten M, Wood NW, Bhatia KP, Tomita K. Age-related telomere attrition in the human putamen. Aging Cell 2023:e13861. [PMID: 37129365 PMCID: PMC10352551 DOI: 10.1111/acel.13861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Age is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. Shortening of leucocyte telomeres with advancing age, arguably a measure of "biological" age, is a known phenomenon and epidemiologically correlated with age-related disease. The main mechanism of telomere shortening is cell division, rendering telomere length in post-mitotic cells presumably stable. Longitudinal measurement of human brain telomere length is not feasible, and cross-sectional cortical brain samples so far indicated no attrition with age. Hence, age-related changes in telomere length in the brain and the association between telomere length and neurodegenerative diseases remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that mean telomere length in the putamen, a part of the basal ganglia, physiologically shortens with age, like leukocyte telomeres. This was achieved by using matched brain and leukocyte-rich spleen samples from 98 post-mortem healthy human donors. Using spleen telomeres as a reference, we further found that mean telomere length was brain region-specific, as telomeres in the putamen were significantly shorter than in the cerebellum. Expression analyses of genes involved in telomere length regulation and oxidative phosphorylation revealed that both region- and age-dependent expression pattern corresponded with region-dependent telomere length dynamics. Collectively, our results indicate that mean telomere length in the human putamen physiologically shortens with advancing age and that both local and temporal gene expression dynamics correlate with this, pointing at a potential mechanism for the selective, age-related vulnerability of the nigro-striatal network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian R Schreglmann
- Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Tomas Goncalves
- Chromosome Maintenance Group, UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK
- Centre for Genome Engineering and Maintenance, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, UK
| | - Melissa Grant-Peters
- Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
| | - Demis A Kia
- Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lilach Soreq
- Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Mina Ryten
- Genetics and Genomic Medicine, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK
- NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, University College London, London, UK
| | - Nicholas W Wood
- Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kailash P Bhatia
- Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kazunori Tomita
- Chromosome Maintenance Group, UCL Cancer Institute, University College London, London, UK
- Centre for Genome Engineering and Maintenance, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, UK
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Doherty T, Dempster E, Hannon E, Mill J, Poulton R, Corcoran D, Sugden K, Williams B, Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Delany SJ, Murphy TM. A comparison of feature selection methodologies and learning algorithms in the development of a DNA methylation-based telomere length estimator. BMC Bioinformatics 2023; 24:178. [PMID: 37127563 PMCID: PMC10152624 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-023-05282-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The field of epigenomics holds great promise in understanding and treating disease with advances in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence being vitally important in this pursuit. Increasingly, research now utilises DNA methylation measures at cytosine-guanine dinucleotides (CpG) to detect disease and estimate biological traits such as aging. Given the challenge of high dimensionality of DNA methylation data, feature-selection techniques are commonly employed to reduce dimensionality and identify the most important subset of features. In this study, our aim was to test and compare a range of feature-selection methods and ML algorithms in the development of a novel DNA methylation-based telomere length (TL) estimator. We utilised both nested cross-validation and two independent test sets for the comparisons. RESULTS We found that principal component analysis in advance of elastic net regression led to the overall best performing estimator when evaluated using a nested cross-validation analysis and two independent test cohorts. This approach achieved a correlation between estimated and actual TL of 0.295 (83.4% CI [0.201, 0.384]) on the EXTEND test data set. Contrastingly, the baseline model of elastic net regression with no prior feature reduction stage performed less well in general-suggesting a prior feature-selection stage may have important utility. A previously developed TL estimator, DNAmTL, achieved a correlation of 0.216 (83.4% CI [0.118, 0.310]) on the EXTEND data. Additionally, we observed that different DNA methylation-based TL estimators, which have few common CpGs, are associated with many of the same biological entities. CONCLUSIONS The variance in performance across tested approaches shows that estimators are sensitive to data set heterogeneity and the development of an optimal DNA methylation-based estimator should benefit from the robust methodological approach used in this study. Moreover, our methodology which utilises a range of feature-selection approaches and ML algorithms could be applied to other biological markers and disease phenotypes, to examine their relationship with DNA methylation and predictive value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor Doherty
- School of Biological, Health and Sports Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- SFI Centre for Research Training in Machine Learning, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Emma Dempster
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Eilis Hannon
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jonathan Mill
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Richie Poulton
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9016, New Zealand
| | - David Corcoran
- Center for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Karen Sugden
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ben Williams
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Avshalom Caspi
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Terrie E Moffitt
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Sarah Jane Delany
- School of Computer Science, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Therese M Murphy
- School of Biological, Health and Sports Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Mizuno Y, Inaba Y, Masuoka H, Kibe M, Kosaka S, Natsuhara K, Hirayama K, Inthavong N, Kounnavong S, Tomita S, Umezaki M. Impact of modernization on oxidative stress among indigenous populations in northern Laos. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023. [PMID: 36919625 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To explore the impact of modernization on oxidative stress during a momentous health transition process, we investigated differences in oxidative stress among the indigenous populations of villages in northern Laos with different levels of modernization. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study of 380 adults in three villages with different levels of modernization. Three biomarkers related to oxidative stress were measured: urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and 8-isoprostane concentrations (both measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry), and blood telomere length (measured with qPCR). We examined associations between village-level modernization and oxidative stress-related biomarkers in a multilevel analysis including a random effect and covariates. RESULTS The geometric means of urinary 8-OHdG and 8-isoprostane concentrations were 2.92 and 0.700 μg/g creatinine, respectively, in our study population. Higher urinary 8-OHdG concentrations and shorter telomeres were observed in participants from the more modernized villages, whereas urinary 8-isoprostane concentrations did not differ significantly among villages. CONCLUSIONS Our findings imply that modernization-induced changes in lifestyle may increase oxidative DNA damage. Baseline levels of oxidative lipid damage are expected to be high in the indigenous populations of northern Laos. Assessments of oxidative stress may provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of health transition in specific populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Mizuno
- Department of Human Ecology, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yohei Inaba
- Department of Environmental Health, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Masuoka
- RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Mihoko Kibe
- Department of Human Ecology, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Satoko Kosaka
- Department of Public Health and Nursing, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan
| | | | - Kazuhiro Hirayama
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nouhak Inthavong
- Lao Tropical and Public Health Institute, Ministry of Health, Vientiane, Laos
| | | | - Shinsuke Tomita
- Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Masahiro Umezaki
- Department of Human Ecology, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Longitudinal telomere dynamics within natural lifespans of a wild bird. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4272. [PMID: 36922555 PMCID: PMC10017829 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31435-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomeres, the nucleotide sequences that protect the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, shorten with each cell division and telomere loss may be influenced by environmental factors. Telomere length (TL) decreases with age in several species, but little is known about the sources of genetic and environmental variation in the change in TL (∆TL) in wild animals. In this study, we tracked changes in TL throughout the natural lifespan (from a few months to almost 9 years) of free-living house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in two different island populations. TL was measured in nestlings and subsequently up to four times during their lifetime. TL generally decreased with age (senescence), but we also observed instances of telomere lengthening within individuals. We found some evidence for selective disappearance of individuals with shorter telomeres through life. Early-life TL positively predicted later-life TL, but the within-individual repeatability in TL was low (9.2%). Using genetic pedigrees, we found a moderate heritability of ∆TL (h2 = 0.21), which was higher than the heritabilities of early-life TL (h2 = 0.14) and later-life TL measurements (h2 = 0.15). Cohort effects explained considerable proportions of variation in early-life TL (60%), later-life TL (53%), and ∆TL (37%), which suggests persistent impacts of the early-life environment on lifelong telomere dynamics. Individual changes in TL were independent of early-life TL. Finally, there was weak evidence for population differences in ∆TL that may be linked to ecological differences in habitat types. Combined, our results show that individual telomere biology is highly dynamic and influenced by both genetic and environmental variation in natural conditions.
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Kaltsas A, Moustakli E, Zikopoulos A, Georgiou I, Dimitriadis F, Symeonidis EN, Markou E, Michaelidis TM, Tien DMB, Giannakis I, Ioannidou EM, Papatsoris A, Tsounapi P, Takenaka A, Sofikitis N, Zachariou A. Impact of Advanced Paternal Age on Fertility and Risks of Genetic Disorders in Offspring. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:486. [PMID: 36833413 PMCID: PMC9957550 DOI: 10.3390/genes14020486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The average age of fathers at first pregnancy has risen significantly over the last decade owing to various variables, including a longer life expectancy, more access to contraception, later marriage, and other factors. As has been proven in several studies, women over 35 years of age have an increased risk of infertility, pregnancy problems, spontaneous abortion, congenital malformations, and postnatal issues. There are varying opinions on whether a father's age affects the quality of his sperm or his ability to father a child. First, there is no single accepted definition of old age in a father. Second, much research has reported contradictory findings in the literature, particularly concerning the most frequently examined criteria. Increasing evidence suggests that the father's age contributes to his offspring's higher vulnerability to inheritable diseases. Our comprehensive literature evaluation shows a direct correlation between paternal age and decreased sperm quality and testicular function. Genetic abnormalities, such as DNA mutations and chromosomal aneuploidies, and epigenetic modifications, such as the silencing of essential genes, have all been linked to the father's advancing years. Paternal age has been shown to affect reproductive and fertility outcomes, such as the success rate of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and premature birth rate. Several diseases, including autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and paediatric leukaemia, have been linked to the father's advanced years. Therefore, informing infertile couples of the alarming correlations between older fathers and a rise in their offspring's diseases is crucial, so that they can be effectively guided through their reproductive years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aris Kaltsas
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Efthalia Moustakli
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics in Clinical Practice, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Athanasios Zikopoulos
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Ioannis Georgiou
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics in Clinical Practice, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Fotios Dimitriadis
- Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evangelos N. Symeonidis
- Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Eleftheria Markou
- Department of Microbiology, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45500 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Theologos M. Michaelidis
- Department of Biological Applications and Technologies, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 45500 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Dung Mai Ba Tien
- Department of Andrology, Binh Dan Hospital, Ho chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
| | - Ioannis Giannakis
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | | | - Athanasios Papatsoris
- 2nd Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Sismanoglio Hospital, National and Kapodistrian Univesity of Athens, 15126 Athens, Greece
| | - Panagiota Tsounapi
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8503, Japan
| | - Atsushi Takenaka
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8503, Japan
| | - Nikolaos Sofikitis
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Athanasios Zachariou
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
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López-Armas GDC, Ramos-Márquez ME, Navarro-Meza M, Macías-Islas MÁ, Saldaña-Cruz AM, Zepeda-Moreno A, Siller-López F, Cruz-Ramos JA. Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Severe Disability in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis and Correlates with Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24020916. [PMID: 36674427 PMCID: PMC9862686 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24020916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects the nervous system. Peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) are potential biomarkers of neurological disability and neural damage. Our objective was to assess the LTL and mtDNA-CN in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). We included 10 healthy controls, 75 patients with RRMS, 50 of whom had an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) from 0 to 3 (mild to moderate disability), and 25 had an EDSS of 3.5 to 7 (severe disability). We use the Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) technique to quantify absolute LTL and absolute mtDNA-CN. ANOVA test show differences between healthy control vs. severe disability RRMS and mild-moderate RRMS vs. severe disability RRMS (p = 0.0130). LTL and mtDNA-CN showed a linear correlation in mild-moderate disability RRMS (r = 0.378, p = 0.007). Furthermore, we analyzed LTL between RRMS groups with a ROC curve, and LTL can predict severe disability (AUC = 0.702, p = 0.0018, cut-off < 3.0875 Kb, sensitivity = 75%, specificity = 62%), whereas the prediction is improved with a logistic regression model including LTL plus age (AUC = 0.762, p = 0.0001, sensitivity = 79.17%, specificity = 80%). These results show that LTL is a biomarker of disability in RRMS and is correlated with mtDNA-CN in mild-moderate RRMS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela del Carmen López-Armas
- Laboratorio de Biomédica-Mecatrónica, Subdirección de Investigación y Extensión, Centro de Enseñanza Técnica Industrial Plantel Colomos, Guadalajara 44638, Mexico
| | - Martha Eloisa Ramos-Márquez
- Departamento de Biología Molecular y Genómica, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | - Mónica Navarro-Meza
- Laboratorio C. de Neuronutrición y Memoria, Departamento de Promoción, Preservación y Desarrollo de la Salud, Centro Universitario del Sur, Universidad de Guadalajara, Ciudad Guzmán 49000, Mexico
| | - Miguel Ángel Macías-Islas
- Departamento de Neurociencias, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | - Ana Miriam Saldaña-Cruz
- Departamento de Fisiología, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | - Abraham Zepeda-Moreno
- Departamento de Clínicas de la Reproducción Humana, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
| | - Fernando Siller-López
- Programa de Bacteriología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Católica de Manizales, Manizales 170002, Colombia
| | - José Alfonso Cruz-Ramos
- Departamento de Clínicas Médicas, Centro Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44340, Mexico
- Coordinación de Investigación, Instituto Jalisciense de Cancerología, Guadalajara 44280, Mexico
- Correspondence:
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Martinez D, Lavebratt C, Millischer V, de Jesus R. de Paula V, Pires T, Michelon L, Camilo C, Esteban N, Pereira A, Schalling M, Vallada H. Shorter telomere length and suicidal ideation in familial bipolar disorder. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0275999. [PMID: 36469522 PMCID: PMC9721487 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Bipolar Disorder (BD) has recently been related to a process of accelerated aging, with shortened leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in this population. It has also been observed that the suicide rate in BD patients is higher than in the general population, and more recently the telomere length variation has been described as shorter in suicide completers compared with control subjects. Objectives The aim of the present study was to investigate if there is an association between LTL and BD in families where two or more members have BD including clinical symptomatology variables, along with suicide behavior. Methods Telomere length and single copy gene ratio (T/S ratio) was measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction in a sample of 143 relatives from 22 families, of which 60 had BD. The statistical analysis was performed with a polygenic mixed model. Results LTL was associated with suicidal ideation (p = 0.02) as that there is an interaction between suicidal ideation and course of the disorder (p = 0.02). The estimated heritability for LTL in these families was 0.68. In addition, covariates that relate to severity of disease, i.e. suicidal ideation and course of the disorder, showed an association with shorter LTL in BD patients. No difference in LTL between BD patients and healthy relatives was observed. Conclusion LTL are shorter in subjects with familial BD suggesting that stress related sub-phenotypes possibly accelerate the process of cellular aging and correlate with disease severity and suicidal ideation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Martinez
- Departamento & Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Laboratório de Genética e Cardiologia Molecular, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Catharina Lavebratt
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vincent Millischer
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Vanessa de Jesus R. de Paula
- Departamento & Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Thiago Pires
- Laboratório de Genética e Cardiologia Molecular, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Leandro Michelon
- Departamento & Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Caroline Camilo
- Departamento & Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Nubia Esteban
- Laboratório de Genética e Cardiologia Molecular, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Alexandre Pereira
- Laboratório de Genética e Cardiologia Molecular, Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Martin Schalling
- Departamento & Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Homero Vallada
- Departamento & Instituto de Psiquiatria, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- * E-mail:
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41
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Sepp T, Meitern R, Heidinger B, Noreikiene K, Rattiste K, Hõrak P, Saks L, Kittilson J, Urvik J, Giraudeau M. Parental age does not influence offspring telomeres during early life in common gulls (Larus canus). Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6197-6207. [PMID: 33772917 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Revised: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Parental age can affect offspring telomere length through heritable and epigenetic-like effects, but at what stage during development these effects are established is not well known. To address this, we conducted a cross-fostering experiment in common gulls (Larus canus) that enabled us distinguish between pre- and post-natal parental age effects on offspring telomere length. Whole clutches were exchanged after clutch completion within and between parental age classes (young and old) and blood samples were collected from chicks at hatching and during the fastest growth phase (11 days later) to measure telomeres. Neither the ages of the natal nor the foster parents predicted the telomere length or the change in telomere lengths of their chicks. Telomere length (TL) was repeatable within chicks, but increased across development (repeatability = 0.55, intraclass correlation coefficient within sampling events 0.934). Telomere length and the change in telomere length were not predicted by post-natal growth rate. Taken together, these findings suggest that in common gulls, telomere length during early life is not influenced by parental age or growth rate, which may indicate that protective mechanisms buffer telomeres from external conditions during development in this relatively long-lived species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuul Sepp
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Richard Meitern
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Britt Heidinger
- Biological Sciences Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
| | - Kristina Noreikiene
- Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Kalev Rattiste
- Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Peeter Hõrak
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Lauri Saks
- Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Jeffrey Kittilson
- Biological Sciences Department, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
| | - Janek Urvik
- Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.,Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mathieu Giraudeau
- CREEC, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.,MIVEGEC, UMR IRD/CNRS/UM 5290, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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42
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Vedder O, Moiron M, Bichet C, Bauch C, Verhulst S, Becker PH, Bouwhuis S. Telomere length is heritable and genetically correlated with lifespan in a wild bird. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6297-6307. [PMID: 33460462 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomeres are protective caps at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes that shorten with age and in response to stressful or resource-demanding conditions. Their length predicts individual health and lifespan across a wide range of animals, but whether the observed positive association between telomere length and lifespan is environmentally induced, or set at conception due to a shared genetic basis, has not been tested in wild animals. We applied quantitative genetic "animal models" to longitudinal telomere measurements collected over a 10-year period from individuals of a wild seabird (common tern; Sterna hirundo) with known pedigree. We found no variation in telomere shortening with age among individuals at the phenotypic and genetic level, and only a small permanent environmental effect on adult telomere length. Instead, we found telomere length to be highly heritable and strongly positively genetically correlated with lifespan. Such heritable differences between individuals that are set at conception may present a hitherto underappreciated component of variation in somatic state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar Vedder
- Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Maria Moiron
- Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.,CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Christina Bauch
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
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43
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Boonekamp J, Rodríguez-Muñoz R, Hopwood P, Zuidersma E, Mulder E, Wilson A, Verhulst S, Tregenza T. Telomere length is highly heritable and independent of growth rate manipulated by temperature in field crickets. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6128-6140. [PMID: 33728719 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Many organisms are capable of growing faster than they do. Restrained growth rate has functionally been explained by negative effects on lifespan of accelerated growth. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Telomere attrition has been proposed as a causal agent and has been mostly studied in endothermic vertebrates. We established that telomeres exist as chromosomal-ends in a model insect, the field cricket Gryllus campestris, using terminal restriction fragment and Bal 31 methods. Telomeres comprised TTAGGn repeats of 38 kb on average, more than four times longer than the telomeres of human infants. Bal 31 assays confirmed that telomeric repeats were located at the chromosome-ends. We tested whether rapid growth between day 1, day 65, day 85, and day 125 is achieved at the expense of telomere length by comparing nymphs reared at 23°C with their siblings reared at 28°C, which grew three times faster in the initial 65 days. Surprisingly, neither temperature treatment nor age affected average telomere length. Concomitantly, the broad sense heritability of telomere length was remarkably high at ~100%. Despite high heritability, the evolvability (a mean-standardized measure of genetic variance) was low relative to that of body mass. We discuss our findings in the context of telomere evolution. Some important features of vertebrate telomere biology are evident in an insect species dating back to the Triassic. The apparent lack of an effect of growth rate on telomere length is puzzling, suggesting strong telomere length maintenance during the growth phase. Whether such maintenance of telomere length is adaptive remains elusive and requires further study investigating the links with fitness in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jelle Boonekamp
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.,Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Paul Hopwood
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Erica Zuidersma
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ellis Mulder
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Alastair Wilson
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Tom Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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44
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Sparks AM, Spurgin LG, van der Velde M, Fairfield EA, Komdeur J, Burke T, Richardson DS, Dugdale HL. Telomere heritability and parental age at conception effects in a wild avian population. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6324-6338. [PMID: 33586226 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Individual variation in telomere length is predictive of health and mortality risk across a range of species. However, the relative influence of environmental and genetic variation on individual telomere length in wild populations remains poorly understood. Heritability of telomere length has primarily been calculated using parent-offspring regression which can be confounded by shared environments. To control for confounding variables, quantitative genetic "animal models" can be used, but few studies have applied animal models in wild populations. Furthermore, parental age at conception may also influence offspring telomere length, but most studies have been cross-sectional. We investigated within- and between-parental age at conception effects and heritability of telomere length in the Seychelles warbler using measures from birds caught over 20 years and a multigenerational pedigree. We found a weak negative within-paternal age at conception effect (as fathers aged, their offspring had shorter telomeres) and a weak positive between-maternal age at conception effect (females that survived to older ages had offspring with longer telomeres). Animal models provided evidence that heritability and evolvability of telomere length were low in this population, and that variation in telomere length was not driven by early-life effects of hatch period or parental identities. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction plate had a large influence on telomere length variation and not accounting for it in the models would have underestimated heritability. Our study illustrates the need to include and account for technical variation in order to accurately estimate heritability, as well as other environmental effects, on telomere length in natural populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M Sparks
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Lewis G Spurgin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Marco van der Velde
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.,Nature Seychelles, Victoria, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.,Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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45
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Pepke ML, Kvalnes T, Lundregan S, Boner W, Monaghan P, Saether BE, Jensen H, Ringsby TH. Genetic architecture and heritability of early-life telomere length in a wild passerine. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6360-6381. [PMID: 34825754 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Early-life telomere length (TL) is associated with fitness in a range of organisms. Little is known about the genetic basis of variation in TL in wild animal populations, but to understand the evolutionary and ecological significance of TL it is important to quantify the relative importance of genetic and environmental variation in TL. In this study, we measured TL in 2746 house sparrow nestlings sampled across 20 years and used an animal model to show that there is a small heritable component of early-life TL (h2 = 0.04). Variation in TL among individuals was mainly driven by environmental (annual) variance, but also brood and parental effects. Parent-offspring regressions showed a large maternal inheritance component in TL ( h maternal 2 = 0.44), but no paternal inheritance. We did not find evidence for a negative genetic correlation underlying the observed negative phenotypic correlation between TL and structural body size. Thus, TL may evolve independently of body size and the negative phenotypic correlation is likely to be caused by nongenetic environmental effects. We further used genome-wide association analysis to identify genomic regions associated with TL variation. We identified several putative genes underlying TL variation; these have been inferred to be involved in oxidative stress, cellular growth, skeletal development, cell differentiation and tumorigenesis in other species. Together, our results show that TL has a low heritability and is a polygenic trait strongly affected by environmental conditions in a free-living bird.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Le Pepke
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thomas Kvalnes
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sarah Lundregan
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Winnie Boner
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM), University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Pat Monaghan
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM), University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Bernt-Erik Saether
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Henrik Jensen
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Thor Harald Ringsby
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
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46
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Bauch C, Boonekamp JJ, Korsten P, Mulder E, Verhulst S. High heritability of telomere length and low heritability of telomere shortening in wild birds. Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6308-6323. [PMID: 34532917 PMCID: PMC9787985 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomere length and telomere shortening predict survival in many organisms. This raises the question of the contribution of genetic and environmental effects to variation in these traits, which is still poorly known, particularly for telomere shortening. We used experimental (cross-fostering) and statistical (quantitative genetic "animal models") means to disentangle and estimate genetic and environmental contributions to telomere length variation in pedigreed free-living jackdaws (Corvus monedula). Telomere length was measured twice in nestlings, at ages 4 (n = 715) and 29 days (n = 474), using telomere restriction fragment (TRF) analysis, adapted to exclude interstitial telomeric sequences. Telomere length shortened significantly over the nestling period (10.4 ± 0.3 bp day-1 ) and was highly phenotypically (rP = 0.95 ± 0.01) and genetically (rG > 0.99 ± 0.01) correlated within individuals. Additive genetic effects explained a major part of telomere length variation among individuals, with its heritability estimated at h2 = 0.74 on average. We note that TRF-based studies reported higher heritabilities than qPCR-based studies, and we discuss possible explanations. Parent-offspring regressions yielded similar heritability estimates for mothers and fathers when accounting for changes in paternal telomere length over life. Year effects explained a small but significant part of telomere length variation. Heritable variation for telomere shortening was low (h2 = 0.09 ± 0.11). The difference in heritability between telomere length (high) and telomere shortening (low) agrees with evolutionary theory, in that telomere shortening has stronger fitness consequences in this population. Despite the high heritability of telomere length, its evolvability, which scales the additive genetic variance by mean telomere length, was on average 0.48%. Hence, evolutionary change of telomere length due to selection is likely to be slow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Bauch
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Jelle J. Boonekamp
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands,Present address:
Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health & Comparative MedicineCollege of Medical, Veterinary and Life SciencesUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Peter Korsten
- Department of Animal BehaviourBielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
| | - Ellis Mulder
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
| | - Simon Verhulst
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningenThe Netherlands
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47
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Sheldon EL, Ton R, Boner W, Monaghan P, Raveh S, Schrey AW, Griffith SC. Associations between DNA methylation and telomere length during early life: Insight from wild zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Mol Ecol 2022; 31:6261-6272. [PMID: 34551154 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Telomere length and DNA methylation (DNAm) are two promising biomarkers of biological age. Environmental factors and life history traits are known to affect variation in both these biomarkers, especially during early life, yet surprisingly little is known about their reciprocal association, especially in natural populations. Here, we explore how variation in DNAm, growth rate, and early-life conditions are associated with telomere length changes during development. We tested these associations by collecting data from wild, nestling zebra finches in the Australian desert. We found that increases in the level of DNAm were negatively correlated with telomere length changes across early life. We also confirm previously documented effects of post hatch growth rate and clutch size on telomere length in a natural ecological context for a species that has been extensively studied in the laboratory. However, we did not detect any effect of ambient temperature during developmental on telomere length dynamics. We also found that the absolute telomere length of wild zebra finches, measured using the in-gel TRF method, was similar to that of captive birds. Our findings highlight exciting new opportunities to link and disentangle potential relationships between DNA based biomarkers of ageing, and of physiological reactions to environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth L Sheldon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Riccardo Ton
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Winnie Boner
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Pat Monaghan
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Shirley Raveh
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Aaron W Schrey
- Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus, Savannah, Georgia, USA
| | - Simon C Griffith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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48
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Farrukh S, Baig S, Hussain R, Imad R, Khalid M. Parental Genetics Communicate with Intrauterine Environment to Reprogram Newborn Telomeres and Immunity. Cells 2022; 11:cells11233777. [PMID: 36497039 PMCID: PMC9735452 DOI: 10.3390/cells11233777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomeres, markers for cellular senescence, have been found substantially influenced by parental inheritance. It is well known that genomic stability is preserved by the DNA repair mechanism through telomerase. This study aimed to determine the association between parents−newborn telomere length (TL) and telomerase gene (TERT), highlighting DNA repair combined with TL/TERT polymorphism and immunosenescence of the triad. The mother−father−newborn triad blood samples (n = 312) were collected from Ziauddin Hospitals, Pakistan, between September 2021 and June 2022. The telomere length (T/S ratio) was quantified by qPCR, polymorphism was identified by Sanger sequencing, and immunosenescence by flow cytometry. The linear regression was applied to TL and gene association. The newborns had longest TL (2.51 ± 2.87) and strong positive association (R = 0.25, p ≤ 0.0001) (transgenerational health effects) with mothers’ TL (1.6 ± 2.00). Maternal demographics—socioeconomic status, education, and occupation—showed significant effects on TL of newborns (p < 0.015, 0.034, 0.04, respectively). The TERT risk genotype CC (rs2736100) was predominant in the triad (0.6, 0.5, 0.65, respectively) with a strong positive association with newborn TL (β = 2.91, <0.0011). Further analysis highlighted the expression of KLRG 1+ in T-cells with shorter TL but less frequent among newborns. The study concludes that TERT, parental TL, antenatal maternal health, and immunity have a significantly positive effect on the repair of newborn TL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadia Farrukh
- Department Biochemistry, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, Pakistan
- Correspondence: (S.F.); (S.B.)
| | - Saeeda Baig
- Department Biochemistry, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, Pakistan
- Correspondence: (S.F.); (S.B.)
| | - Rubina Hussain
- Department Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, Pakistan
| | - Rehan Imad
- Department Molecular Medicine, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, Pakistan
| | - Maria Khalid
- Department Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, Pakistan
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49
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Sparks AM, Hammers M, Komdeur J, Burke T, Richardson DS, Dugdale HL. Sex-dependent effects of parental age on offspring fitness in a cooperatively breeding bird. Evol Lett 2022; 6:438-449. [PMID: 36579166 PMCID: PMC9783413 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.300] [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: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental age can have considerable effects on offspring phenotypes and health. However, intergenerational effects may also have longer term effects on offspring fitness. Few studies have investigated parental age effects on offspring fitness in natural populations while also testing for sex- and environment-specific effects. Further, longitudinal parental age effects may be masked by population-level processes such as the selective disappearance of poor-quality individuals. Here, we used multigenerational data collected on individually marked Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) to investigate the impact of maternal and paternal age on offspring life span and lifetime reproductive success. We found negative effects of maternal age on female offspring life span and lifetime reproductive success, which were driven by within-mother effects. There was no difference in annual reproductive output of females born to older versus younger mothers, suggesting that the differences in offspring lifetime reproductive success were driven by effects on offspring life span. In contrast, there was no association between paternal age and female offspring life span or either maternal or paternal age and male offspring life span. Lifetime reproductive success, but not annual reproductive success, of male offspring increased with maternal age, but this was driven by between-mother effects. No paternal age effects were found on female offspring lifetime reproductive success but there was a positive between-father effect on male offspring lifetime reproductive success. We did not find strong evidence for environment-dependent parental age effects. Our study provides evidence for parental age effects on the lifetime fitness of offspring and shows that such effects can be sex dependent. These results add to the growing literature indicating the importance of intergenerational effects on long-term offspring performance and highlight that these effects can be an important driver of variation in longevity and fitness in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra M. Sparks
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of BiologyUniversity of LeedsLeedsLS2 9JTUnited Kingdom,School of BiosciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldS10 2TNUnited Kingdom
| | - Martijn Hammers
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9712 CPThe Netherlands,Aeres University of Applied SciencesAlmere1325 WBThe Netherlands
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9712 CPThe Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- School of BiosciencesUniversity of SheffieldSheffieldS10 2TNUnited Kingdom
| | - David S. Richardson
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichNR4 7TJUnited Kingdom,Nature SeychellesMahéRepublic of Seychelles
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, School of BiologyUniversity of LeedsLeedsLS2 9JTUnited Kingdom,Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life SciencesUniversity of GroningenGroningen9712 CPThe Netherlands
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50
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Bolhuis E, Belsky J, Frankenhuis WE, Shalev I, Hastings WJ, Tollenaar MS, O’Donnell KJ, McGill MG, Pokhvisneva I, Lin DT, MacIsaac JL, Kobor MS, de Weerth C, Beijers R. Attachment insecurity and the biological embedding of reproductive strategies: Investigating the role of cellular aging. Biol Psychol 2022; 175:108446. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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