title: Determination of telomere length by flow-fluorescence in situ hybridization in Down's syndrome patients.
abstract: A new method for measuring telomere length in a population of Down's syndrome patients aged 18-60 years old is presented. The method is based on flow cytometry and quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (flow-FISH) on whole cells. At least three methods for measuring the length of telomere repeats have been described: (i) Southern blot analysis, and quantitative FISH using either (ii) digital fluorescence microscopy (Q-FISH) or (iii) flow cytometry (flow-FISH). Both Southern blot analysis and Q-FISH have specific limitations and are time-consuming, whereas flow-FISH needed relatively few cells (1.5-2.5 x 106) and could be completed in 24-48 h. The method can be used to rapidly determine telomere length in subsets of nucleated blood cells from patients with age-related diseases such as Down's syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and Werner syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Transplant Immunology and Hematologic Diagnosis, Hospital Niguarda Ca' Granda, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brando
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beltrami
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Passoni
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verna
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Licastro
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Corsi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016615:Telomere / Q000648:ultrastructure*