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Published ahead of print on January 29, 2009, doi:10.1164/rccm.200809-1398OC
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American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 179. pp. 566-571, (2009)
© 2009 American Thoracic Society
doi: 10.1164/rccm.200809-1398OC

Original Article

Shortened Telomeres in Circulating Leukocytes of Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Laurent Savale1,2, Ari Chaouat3,*, Sylvie Bastuji-Garin4,*, Elisabeth Marcos1,2, Laurent Boyer1,2, Bernard Maitre2,5, Mourad Sarni1, Bruno Housset2,5, Emmanuel Weitzenblum6, Mireille Matrat2,5, Philippe Le Corvoisier2,7, Dominique Rideau1,2, Jorge Boczkowski1,2, Jean-Luc Dubois-Randé1,2, Christos Chouaid8 and Serge Adnot1,2

1 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Service de Physiologie Explorations Fonctionnelles, Université Paris 12, Créteil; 2 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U955, Faculté de Médecine de Créteil, Créteil; 3 Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Nancy, Hôpital de Brabois, Service des Maladies Respiratoires et Réanimation Respiratoire, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy; 4 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Service de Santé Publique, Université Paris 12, Créteil; 5 Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Créteil, Service de Pneumologie et de Pathologie Professionnelle, Créteil; 6 Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Strasbourg, Hôpital de Hautepierre, Département de Pneumologie, Strasbourg; 7 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Centre d'Investigation Clinique 006 et Plateforme de Ressources Biologiques, Créteil; and 8 Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Saint Antoine, Service de Pneumologie, Paris, France

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Serge Adnot, M.D., Ph.D., Hôpital Henri Mondor, Service de Physiologie Explorations Fonctionnelles, 94010 Créteil, France. E-mail: serge.adnot{at}inserm.fr

Rationale: Telomere length is considered a marker for biological aging. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be associated with premature aging.

Objectives: To test the hypothesis that patients with COPD experience accelerated telomere shortening and that inflammation is linked to this process.

Methods: We measured telomere length, using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction–based method, and plasma levels of various cytokines in 136 patients with COPD, 113 age- and sex-matched smokers, and 42 nonsmokers with normal lung function.

Measurements and Main Results: Median (range) telomere length ratio was significantly lower in patients with COPD (0.57 [0.23–1.18]) than in control smokers (0.79 [0.34–1.58]) or nonsmokers (0.85 [0.38–1.55]) (P < 0.001). The difference remained highly significant when using logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, and tobacco exposure. Both females and males with COPD had shorter telomere length than same-sex control subjects. Telomere length was related to age in patients and control subjects but was shorter in patients than in control subjects in all age groups. No relationship was found between telomere length and tobacco exposure in patients or control subjects, with no difference between control smokers and nonsmokers. In patients with COPD, telomere length was related to PaO2 (P < 0.001) and PaCO2 (P < 0.001) but not to lung function parameters or the BODE Index. Patients with COPD also had elevated plasma levels of various cytokines, interleukin-6 correlating negatively with telomere length (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Given that in vivo telomere length reflects cellular turnover and exposure to oxidative and inflammatory damage, our data support accelerated aging in COPD.

Key Words: telomere length • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease • inflammation • hypoxemia


AT A GLANCE COMMENTARY

Scientific Knowledge on the Subject
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) develop many age-related complications that substantially affect outcome. Telomere length is considered a marker for biological aging.

What This Study Adds to the Field
Excess telomere shortening was found in patients with COPD, supporting accelerated aging in COPD. Decreased telomere length, used as a marker for cellular turnover, exposure to oxidative and inflammatory damage, and biological age, may have clinical significance in COPD.

 



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