Telomere length is associated with ACE I/D polymorphism in hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy.
BACKGROUND
Short telomeres are often associated with cardiovascular risk factors and age-related diseases, while the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion polymorphism (DD, ID, II) has shown such associations less consistently. We hypothesized that telomere length and association of telomere length with cardiovascular risk is affected by ACE (I/D) genotype.


METHODS
We measured leucocyte telomere length (LTL) by Southern blot and analysed ACE I/D genotypes in 1249 subjects with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). We examined interactions of ACE I/D genotype with LTL and cardiovascular risk.


RESULTS
Mean LTL in DD or ID genotype was shorter (8.15 and 8.14 kb, respectively), than in II genotype (8.27 kb, p=0.0005). This difference was significant in the younger subjects (55-64 years, p=0.02) but not in the older group (65-80 years, p=0.56 ). In DD but not I/D or II genotype, proportion of short telomeres (<5 kb) was related to Framingham risk score.


CONCLUSIONS
Shorter LTL in genotypes DD or ID suggests a negative effect of the D allele on telomere length. Homozygocity for the D allele appears to strengthen the association of telomere length with increased cardiovascular risk in elderly hypertensive subjects with LVH.
Minerva Institute for Medical Research, Finland. frej.fyhrquist@helsinki.fi
Frej
F
Fyhrquist
Anders
A
Eriksson
Outi
O
Saijonmaa
Børge G
BG
Nordestgaard
Kimmo
K
Kontula
Ulf
U
de Faire
Hans
H
Ibsen
Sverre
S
Kjeldsen
Ingrid
I
Os
Björn
B
Dahlöf
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000150:complications / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D054643:INDEL Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012307:Risk Factors; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics*
C488034:ACE protein, human; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A