Blood leucocyte telomere DNA content predicts vascular telomere DNA content in humans with and without vascular disease
Abstract
AIMS: Previous studies have suggested that reduced telomere length in circulating leucocytes in humans is associated with premature vascular disease and by implication, accelerated vascular ageing. Importantly, a link between telomere length in circulating leucocytes and the blood vessel wall has never been established. We, thus, investigated the relationship between vascular wall and circulating leucocyte telomere length in humans with and without overt vascular disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Aortic biopsies and paired blood leucocytes were obtained from 20 patients with asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs), undergoing elective open repair, and 12 morphologically normal aortas from a group of cadaveric organ donors of similar mean age. Telomere content was compared by quantitative PCR and expressed as telomere:genomic DNA ratio. The telomere:genomic DNA content was significantly reduced in wall biopsies of AAA vs. normal aorta, and this difference remained after adjusting for age and gender. There were strong correlations between leucocyte and vascular telomere content when the AAA and control groups were analysed either separately or grouped irrespective of the presence of vascular disease (r = 0.62, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate that leucocyte DNA content is predictive of vascular telomere content and is an accurate surrogate for human vascular age.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Within an individual, mean TL of leukocytes and other tissues is highly correlated.
“However, there is evidence that within an individual, mean TL of leukocytes (LTL) and other tissues is highly correlated10, 11.”
From Identification of seven loci affecting mean telomere length and their association with disease (2013) · cites this paper as [10]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The American Journal of Human Genetics
S., J. (1950) · Population · doi:10.2307/1523704 · Cited by 5,124 · see citing works
Telomere measurement by quantitative PCR
Cawthon, R. (2002) · Nucleic Acids Research · doi:10.1093/nar/30.10.e47 · Cited by 3,492 · see citing works
Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress
Epel, E. S., Blackburn, E. H., Lin, J., Dhabhar, F. S., Adler, N. E., Morrow, J. D., & Cawthon, R. M. (2004) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0407162101 · Cited by 3,002 · see citing works
Oxidative stress shortens telomeres
von Zglinicki, T. (2002) · Trends in Biochemical Sciences · doi:10.1016/s0968-0004(02)02110-2 · Cited by 2,524 · see citing works
Association between telomere length in blood and mortality in people aged 60 years or older
Cawthon, R. M., Smith, K. R., O'Brien, E., Sivatchenko, A., & Kerber, R. A. (2003) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(03)12384-7 · Cited by 1,761 · see citing works
Obesity, cigarette smoking, and telomere length in women
Valdes, A., Andrew, T., Gardner, J., Kimura, M., Oelsner, E., Cherkas, L., Aviv, A., & Spector, T. (2005) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)66630-5 · Cited by 1,363 · see citing works
Endothelial Cell Senescence in Human Atherosclerosis: Role of Telomere in Endothelial Dysfunction
Minamino, T., Miyauchi, H., Yoshida, T., Ishida, Y., Yoshida, H., & Komuro, I. (2002) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.0000013836.85741.17 · Cited by 1,061 · see citing works
Leukocyte Telomere Length and Cardiovascular Disease in the Cardiovascular Health Study
Fitzpatrick, A. L., Kronmal, R. A., Gardner, J. P., Psaty, B. M., Jenny, N. S., Tracy, R. P., Walston, J., Kimura, M., & Aviv, A. (2006) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwj346 · Cited by 773 · see citing works
Brouilette, S., Moore, J. S., McMahon, A. D., Thompson, J. R., Ford, I., Shepherd, J., Packard, C. J., & Samani, N. J. (2007) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60071-3 · Cited by 744 · see citing works
Genetic determination of telomere size in humans: a twin study of three age groups.
Slagboom, P. E., Droog, S., & Boomsma, D. I. (1994) · PubMed Central · Cited by 741 · see citing works
Telomere length and replicative aging in human vascular tissues.
Chang, E., & Harley, C. B. (1995) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.92.24.11190 · Cited by 635 · see citing works
Telomere Length as an Indicator of Biological Aging
Bénétos, A., Okuda, K., Lajemi, M., Kimura, M., Thomas, F., Skurnick, J., Labat, C., Bean, K., & Aviv, A. (2001) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/01.hyp.37.2.381 · Cited by 621 · see citing works
Matthews, C., Gorenne, I., Scott, S., Figg, N., Kirkpatrick, P., Ritchie, A., Goddard, M., & Bennett, M. (2006) · Circulation Research · doi:10.1161/01.res.0000233315.38086.bc · Cited by 615 · cited 5× · see citing works
“This approach yields values in terms of telomere DNA repeat content and, in its present form, does not give a direct indication of the mean length of telomere DNA.”
BackgroundInfluentialTelomere shortening in atherosclerosis
Samani, N. J., Boultby, R., Butler, R., Thompson, J. R., & Goodall, A. H. (2001) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(01)05633-1 · Cited by 609 · see citing works
White Cell Telomere Length and Risk of Premature Myocardial Infarction
Brouilette, S., Singh, R. K., Thompson, J. R., Goodall, A. H., & Samani, N. J. (2003) · Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology · doi:10.1161/01.atv.0000067426.96344.32 · Cited by 590 · see citing works
Vascular Cell Senescence: Contribution to Atherosclerosis
Minamino, T., & Komuro, I. (2007) · Circulation Research · doi:10.1161/01.res.0000256837.40544.4a · Cited by 542 · see citing works
Demissie, S., Levy, D., Benjamin, E. J., Cupples, L. A., Gardner, J. P., Herbert, A., Kimura, M., Larson, M. G., Meigs, J. B., Keaney, J. F., et al. (2006) · Aging Cell · doi:10.1111/j.1474-9726.2006.00224.x · Cited by 508 · see citing works
Rise in Insulin Resistance Is Associated With Escalated Telomere Attrition
Gardner, J. P., Li, S., Srinivasan, S. R., Chen, W., Kimura, M., Lu, X., Berenson, G. S., & Aviv, A. (2005) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.0000163550.70487.0b · Cited by 361 · see citing works
Telomere Length Inversely Correlates With Pulse Pressure and Is Highly Familial
Jeanclos, E. M., Schork, N. J., Kyvik, K. O., Kimura, M., Skurnick, J., & Aviv, A. (2000) · Hypertension · doi:10.1161/01.hyp.36.2.195 · Cited by 352 · see citing works
Telomere lengths are characteristic in each human individual
Takubo, K., Izumiyama‐Shimomura, N., Honma, N., Sawabe, M., Arai, T., Kato, M., Oshimura, M., & Nakamura, K. (2002) · Experimental Gerontology · doi:10.1016/s0531-5565(01)00218-2 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
von Zglinicki, T., Serra, V., Lorenz, M., Saretzki, G. C., Lenzen-Großimlinghaus, R., Gessner, R. V., Risch, A., & Steinhagen‐Thiessen, E. (2000) · Laboratory Investigation · doi:10.1038/labinvest.3780184 · Cited by 305 · see citing works
Telomere Biology and Cardiovascular Disease
Fuster, J. J., & Andrés, V. (2006) · Circulation Research · doi:10.1161/01.res.0000251281.00845.18 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Telomere attrition of the human abdominal aorta: relationships with age and atherosclerosis
Okuda, K., Khan, M. Y., Skurnick, J., Kimura, M., Aviv, H., & Aviv, A. (2000) · Atherosclerosis · doi:10.1016/s0021-9150(99)00482-7 · Cited by 217 · see citing works
Aviv, A., Valdes, A. M., Gardner, J. P., Swaminathan, R., Kimura, M., & Spector, T. D. (2006) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · doi:10.1210/jc.2005-1814 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Developmental differences in the immortalization of lung fibroblasts by telomerase
Forsyth, N. R., Evans, A., Shay, J. W., & Wright, W. E. (2003) · Aging Cell · doi:10.1046/j.1474-9728.2003.00057.x · Cited by 156 · see citing works
DNA damage and repair in atherosclerosis
Mahmoudi, M., MERCER, J., & Bennett, M. R. (2006) · Cardiovascular Research · doi:10.1016/j.cardiores.2006.03.002 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Martin-Ruiz, C. M., Saretzki, G. C., Petrie, J., Ladhoff, J., Jeyapalan, J. C., Wei, W., Sedivy, J. M., & von Zglinicki, T. (2004) · Journal of Biological Chemistry · doi:10.1074/jbc.m311980200 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Kurz, D. J., Kloeckener‐Gruissem, B., Akhmedov, A. T., Eberli, F. R., Bühler, I., Berger, W., Bertel, O., & Lüscher, T. F. (2006) · Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology · doi:10.1161/01.atv.0000222961.24912.69 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Minamino, T., Miyauchi, H., Yoshida, T., & Komuro, I. (2003) · PubMed · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Need for caesarean sections in west Africa
Fenton, P. M. (2002) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)07996-5 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Telomere shortening and atherosclerosis
Samani, N. J., & Goodall, A. H. (2002) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)07998-9 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Identification of seven loci affecting mean telomere length and their association with disease
CARDIoGRAM consortium, Codd, V., Nelson, C. P., Albrecht, E., Mangino, M., Deelen, J., Buxton, J. L., Hottenga, J. J., Fischer, K., Esko, T., et al. (2013) · Nature Genetics · doi:10.1038/ng.2528 · Cited by 933 · see citing works
A systematic review of leukocyte telomere length and age in adults
Müezzinler, A., Zaineddin, A. K., & Brenner, H. (2013) · Ageing Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.arr.2013.01.003 · Cited by 474 · see citing works
Physical Exercise Prevents Cellular Senescence in Circulating Leukocytes and in the Vessel Wall
Werner, C., Fürster, T., Widmann, T., Pöss, J., Roggia, C., Hanhoun, M., Scharhag, J., Büchner, N., Meyer, T., Kindermann, W., et al. (2009) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.109.861005 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
Werner, C. M., Hecksteden, A., Morsch, A., Zundler, J., Wegmann, M., Kratzsch, J., Thiery, J., Hohl, M., Bittenbring, J. T., Neumann, F., et al. (2019) · European Heart Journal · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehy585 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Short telomere length, myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, and early death
Weischer, M., Bojesen, S. E., Cawthon, R. M., Freiberg, J. J., Tybjærg-Hansen, A., & Nordestgaard, B. G. (2012) · Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology · doi:10.1161/atvbaha.111.237271 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Weischer, M., Bojesen, S. E., & Nordestgaard, B. G. (2014) · PLoS Genetics · doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004191 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Comparison of the relative telomere length measured in leukocytes and eleven different human tissues
DLOUHA, D., MALUSKOVA, J., KRALOVA LESNA, I., LANSKA, V., & HUBACEK, J. A. (2014) · Physiological Research · doi:10.33549/physiolres.932856 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Pioglitazone activates aortic telomerase and prevents stress-induced endothelial apoptosis
Werner, C., Gensch, C., Pöss, J., Haendeler, J., Böhm, M., & Laufs, U. (2011) · Atherosclerosis · doi:10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2011.02.011 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Fazzini, F., Lamina, C., Raschenberger, J., Schultheiss, U. T., Kotsis, F., Schönherr, S., Weissensteiner, H., Forer, L., Steinbrenner, I., Meiselbach, H., et al. (2020) · Kidney International · doi:10.1016/j.kint.2020.02.034 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
- Authors
- Wilson, W. R. W., Herbert, K. E., Mistry, Y., Stevens, S. E., Patel, H. R., Hastings, R. A., Thompson, M. M., & Williams, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- St George's Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Williams, B.
- Venue
- European Heart Journal
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2008-05-20
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 2689-2694
- ISSN
- 0195-668X (ISSN-L)
- 1522-9645
- OpenAlex
- W2144068467
- Cited by
- 185
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 8.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Heart Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- British Heart Foundation (PG/2001110)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Aortic aneurysm repair treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiovascular Health and Disease Prevention
- Keywords
- telomere length, vascular aging, aortic aneurysm, aortic wall, vascular disease, surrogate markers, vascular age
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aorta, Abdominal, Biopsy, DNA, Female, Humans, Leukocytes, Male, Middle Aged, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Telomere, Cellular Senescence, Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
