title: Telomere length measurement by a novel Luminex-based assay: a blinded comparison to Southern blot.
abstract: Telomere length (TL) is a potential biomarker of aging and age-related disease risk. We recently published a novel Luminex-based method for high-throughput, low-cost TL measurement. Here we describe a blinded comparison of the Luminex method to Southern blot, the most precise TL measurement method. Luminex and Southern blot measurements for the same 50 DNA samples were taken in two independent laboratories; each sample was measured twice, several months apart. The inter-assay CV for Luminex ranged from 5.5 to 9.1 (depending on CV estimation method), and Southern blot CV from 1.0 to 1.7. Both measures were inversely associated with age. The correlation between the repeated measurements was 0.66 for Luminex and 0.97 for Southern blot. The correlation between Southern blot and Luminex was 0.65 in round 1 and 0.75 in round 2, and the relationship showed no evidence of non-linearity. Our results demonstrate that the Luminex assay is a valid and reproducible method for high-throughput TL measurement. The Luminex assay involves no DNA amplification, which may make Luminex an attractive alternative to PCR-based TL measurement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of ChicagoChicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA; Department of Human Genetics, University of ChicagoChicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA; Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of ChicagoChicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Brandon L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago Chicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Farzana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jasmine
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago Chicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Shantanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago Chicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Chenan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Center of Human Development and Aging, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School Newark, NJ 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aviv
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Genetics Division, University of Utah School of MedicineSalt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA; Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College in QatarUSA.
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of ChicagoChicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA; Department of Human Genetics, University of ChicagoChicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA; Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of ChicagoChicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA; Department of Medicine, University of ChicagoChicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Habibul
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahsan
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Chicago Chicago IL 60615, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Muhammad G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kibriya
keywords: Luminex; Southern blot; Telomere length; aging; qPCR; validation