Telomere length in elderly Caucasians weakly correlates with blood cell counts.
BACKGROUND
Age-related decrease in bone marrow erythropoietic capacity is often accompanied by the telomere length shortening in peripheral white blood cells. However, limited and conflicting data hamper the conclusive opinion regarding this relationship. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess an association between telomere length and peripheral blood cell count parameters in the Polish elderly population.


METHODS
The substudy included 1573 of 4981 subjects aged 65 years or over, participants of the population-based PolSenior study. High-molecular-weight DNA was isolated from blood mononuclear cells. Telomere length (TL) was measured by QRT-PCR as abundance of telomere template versus a single gene copy encoding acidic ribosomal phosphoprotein P0.


RESULTS
Only white blood count (WBC) was significantly different in TL tertile subgroups in all subjects (P = 0.02) and in men (P = 0.01), but not in women. Merely in men significant but weak positive correlations were found between TL and WBC (r = 0.11, P < 0.05) and RBC (r = 0.08, P < 0.05). The multiple regression analysis models confirmed a weak, independent contribution of TL to both RBC and WBC.


CONCLUSIONS
In the elderly, telomere shortening limits hematopoiesis capacity to a very limited extent.
Department of General and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
Ewa
E
Gutmajster
Department of General and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
Joanna
J
Witecka
Department of General and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland ; Department of Pathophysiology, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
Magdalena
M
Wyskida
Department of General and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
Justyna
J
Koscinska-Marczewska
Department of Human Epigenetics, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland.
Malgorzata
M
Szwed
Department of Human Epigenetics, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland ; International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 02-109 Warsaw, Poland.
Magdalena
M
Owczarz
International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 02-109 Warsaw, Poland.
Malgorzata
M
Mossakowska
Department of Endocrinology, Diabetology and Isotope Therapy Medical University, 50-367 Wroclaw, Poland.
Andrzej
A
Milewicz
Department of Human Epigenetics, Mossakowski Medical Research Centre, 02-106 Warsaw, Poland ; Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Medical Center of Postgraduate Education, 01-813 Warsaw, Poland.
Monika
M
Puzianowska-Kuznicka
Department of Epidemiology, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
Jan
J
Zejda
Department of Nephrology, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Medical University of Silesia, 40-027 Katowice, Poland.
Andrzej
A
Wiecek
Department of Pathophysiology, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland ; Department of Nephrology, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Medical University of Silesia, 40-027 Katowice, Poland.
Jerzy
J
Chudek
Department of General and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
Aleksander L
AL
Sieron
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology; D008297:Male; D011044:Poland; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016615:Telomere / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D044465:White People
D004247:DNA