The Study Of Telomere Length In Peripheral White Blood Cells Of Patients With Coronary Atherosclerosis And Its Significance

Objctives: To study the change of atherosclerosis on the telomere length in peripheral white blood cells of patients with coronary atherosclerosis.Methods: Thirty-two persons excluding acute and chronic inflammation, cancer, diabetes mellitus and autoimmune diseases entered this study and were divided to two groups: coronary atherosclerosis group (CAS group) and control group according to the results of the coronary radiography(CAG). Two groups were matched in age and gender. After Sampling 5ml venous blood from two groups, we extracted leucocyte DNA using Phenol-choroform-isoamyl alcohol method and Ammonium acetate method respectively. Then we did southern blotting after checking the purity of DNA. At last we scanned the image and used a software to measure the telomere length.Results: The telomere length in peripheral white blood cells of CAS group was. obviously shorter than that of control group(mean SD:7.79 1.23Kb VS 8.77 0.74Kb, P=0.006). The telomere length in peripheral white blood cells of control group and their ages have negative relation (r=- 0.526,P<0.05). An age-related decrease of the telomere length was about 30bp every year. The telomere length in peripheral white blood cells of CAS group and their ages have no relation (r=- 0.398,P>0.05).Conclusions: Comparing with control group,the telomere length in white blood cells of CAS group was obviously shorter. This result suggested that there were increasing leucocyte turnover in the patients with coronary atherosclerosis . It supports the standpoint that atherosclerosis maybe asystematic chronic inflammation. The shorter telomere length in white blood cells of CAS group also reflected the telomere shorting in vascular endothelia cells which results in endothelial cells senescence that may contribute to atherosclerosis. Thus telomere shorting could play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis.