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Grzeczka A, Graczyk S, Kordowitzki P. DNA Methylation and Telomeres-Their Impact on the Occurrence of Atrial Fibrillation during Cardiac Aging. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:15699. [PMID: 37958686 PMCID: PMC10650750 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242115699] [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: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in humans. AF is characterized by irregular and increased atrial muscle activation. This high-frequency activation obliterates the synchronous work of the atria and ventricles, reducing myocardial performance, which can lead to severe heart failure or stroke. The risk of developing atrial fibrillation depends largely on the patient's history. Cardiovascular diseases are considered aging-related pathologies; therefore, deciphering the role of telomeres and DNA methylation (mDNA), two hallmarks of aging, is likely to contribute to a better understanding and prophylaxis of AF. In honor of Prof. Elizabeth Blackburn's 75th birthday, we dedicate this review to the discovery of telomeres and her contribution to research on aging.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Pawel Kordowitzki
- Department for Basic and Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Biological and Veterinary Sciences, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Szosa Bydgoska 13, 87-100 Torun, Poland
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Leukocyte Telomere Length as a Molecular Biomarker of Coronary Heart Disease. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13071234. [PMID: 35886017 PMCID: PMC9318544 DOI: 10.3390/genes13071234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background. This work is a review of preclinical and clinical studies of the role of telomeres and telomerase in the development and progression of coronary heart disease (CHD). Materials and methods. A search for full-text publications (articles, reviews, meta-analyses, Cochrane reviews, and clinical cases) in English and Russian was carried out in the databases PubMed, Oxford University Press, Scopus, Web of Science, Springer, and E-library electronic library using keywords and their combinations. The search depth is 11 years (2010–2021). Results. The review suggests that the relative leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with the development of socially significant and widespread cardiovascular diseases such as CHD and essential hypertension. At the same time, the interests of researchers are mainly focused on the study of the relative LTL in CHD. Conclusions. Despite the scientific and clinical significance of the analyzed studies of the relative length of human LTL as a biological marker of cardiovascular diseases, their implementation in real clinical practice is difficult due to differences in the design and methodology of the analyzed studies, as well as differences in the samples by gender, age, race, and ethnicity. The authors believe that clinical studies of the role of the relative length of leukocyte telomeres in adult patients with coronary heart disease are the most promising and require large multicenter studies with a unified design and methodology.
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von Falkenhausen AS, Freudling R, Waldenberger M, Gieger C, Peters A, Müller-Nurasyid M, Kääb S, Sinner MF. Common electrocardiogram measures are not associated with telomere length. Aging (Albany NY) 2022; 14:5620-5627. [PMID: 35787517 PMCID: PMC9365565 DOI: 10.18632/aging.204149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Aging is accompanied by telomere shortening. Increased telomere shortening is considered a marker of premature aging. Cardiac aging results in the development of cardiac pathologies. Electrocardiogram (ECG) measures reflect cardiac excitation, conduction, and repolarization. ECG measures also prolong with aging and are associated with cardiac pathologies including atrial fibrillation. As premature prolongation of ECG measures is observed, we hypothesized that such prolongation may be associated with telomere length. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied the large, community-based KORA F4 Study. Of 3,080 participants enrolled between 2006 and 2007 with detailed information on demographic, anthropometric, clinical, and ECG characteristics, 2,575 presented with available data on leukocyte telomere length. Telomere length was determined by real-time quantitative PCR and expressed relative to a single copy gene. We fitted multivariable adjusted linear regression models to associate the ECG measures RR-interval, PR-interval, QRS-duration, and heart rate corrected QTc with telomere length. In our cohort, the mean age was 54.9±12.9 years and 46.6% were men. Increased age was associated with shorter telomere length (p<0.01), and men had shorter telomere length than women (p<0.05). In unadjusted models, heart rate (p=0.023), PR-interval (p<0.01), and QTc-interval (p<0.01) were significantly associated with shorter telomere length. However, no significant associations remained after accounting for age, sex, and covariates. CONCLUSIONS ECG measures are age-dependent, but not associated with shortened telomere length as a marker of biological aging. Further research is warranted to clarify if shortened telomeres are associated with clinical cardiac pathologies including atrial fibrillation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aenne S von Falkenhausen
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Rebecca Freudling
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Melanie Waldenberger
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany.,Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.,Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Christian Gieger
- German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany.,Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.,Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Annette Peters
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.,Research Unit Molecular Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.,Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Martina Müller-Nurasyid
- Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.,Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.,Pettenkofer School of Public Health Munich, Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stefan Kääb
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
| | - Moritz F Sinner
- Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.,German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), Partner Site Munich Heart Alliance, Munich, Germany
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Wang Q, Liu Z, Dong Y, Yang X, Chen M, Gao Y. Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Progression From Paroxysmal to Persistent Atrial Fibrillation in the Long Term After Catheter Ablation. Front Cardiovasc Med 2022; 8:813390. [PMID: 35141296 PMCID: PMC8818686 DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.813390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Aging is significantly associated with the incidence and progression of atrial fibrillation (AF) incidence. This study aimed to evaluate the potential predictive value of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) for progression from paroxysmal AF (PAF) to persistent AF (PsAF) after catheter ablation. Methods and Results A total of 269 patients with AF (154 patients with PAF and 115 patients with PsAF, respectively) were prospectively enrolled, and all patients with PAF at baseline were regularly followed up to determine whether and when they should progress to PsAF after catheter ablation therapy. Baseline relative LTL was measured by quantitative real-time PCR (rt-PCT). There was a significant negative association between LTL and age (r = −0.23, p < 0.001). Patients with PsAF had significantly shorter LTL than those with PAF. After a mean follow-up of 854.9 ± 18.7 d, progression events occurred in 35 out of the 154 patients with PAF. Those progressed patients with PAF were older (70.9 ± 8.0 vs. 62.3 ± 10.3, p < 0.001) and had shorter LTL (1.2 ± 0.3 vs. 1.5 ± 0.3, p < 0.001) than those who did not. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed a significant value of LTL in distinguishing patients with PAF from patients with PsAF, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.63 (95% CI 0.56–0.70, p < 0.001), and the optimal cut-off value of LTL was 1.175, with a sensitivity and specificity of 56.03 and 82.04%, respectively. All patients with PAF were divided into two subgroups according to the optimal cut-off point of LTL calculated by the ROC curve analysis: high LTL group (≥1.175) and low LTL group (<1.175). Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that PAF patients with shorter LTL had a significantly higher rate of progression after catheter ablation (40.5% vs. 18.8%, log-rank test p < 0.001). Multivariate Cox proportional-hazards model indicated that LTL [hazard ratio (HR): 2.71, 95% CI 1.36–5.42, p = 0.005] was an independent predictor for progression from PAF to PsAF after catheter ablation therapy, but HATCH score was not (HR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.68–1.52, p = 0.923). Conclusion Leukocyte telomere length was significantly associated with AF types. LTL was independently associated with progression from PAF to PsAF after catheter ablation therapy. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, Registration Number: ChiCTR1900021341.
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