title: Quantitative 3D Telomeric Imaging of Buccal Cells Reveals Alzheimer's Disease-Specific Signatures.
abstract: This study validates and expands on our previous work that assessed three-dimensional (3D) nuclear telomere profiling in buccal cells of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and non-AD controls (Mathur et al., J Alzheimers Dis 39, 35-48, 2014). While the previous study used age- and gender-matched caregiver controls, the current study consented a new cohort of 44 age- and gender-matched healthy non-caregiver controls and 44 AD study participants. 3D telomeric profiles of buccal cells of AD patients and their non-AD controls were examined with participant information blinded to the analysis. In agreement with our previous study, we demonstrate that 3D telomeric profiles allow for the distinction between AD and non-AD individuals. This validation cohort provides an indication that the total number of 3D telomeric signals and their telomere lengths may be a suitable biomarker to differentiate between AD and non-AD and between mild, moderate, and severe AD. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to move this technology further toward the clinic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Neuroscience Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Angeles
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, The University of Manitoba, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
authors.forename: Shubha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mathur
authors.affiliation: Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, The University of Manitoba, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
authors.forename: Maria Carmela
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kalaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Neuroscience Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McAvoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Neuroscience Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Neuroscience Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luedke
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine (Geriatrics) and Neuroscience Centre, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Justine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Itorralba
authors.affiliation: Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology, The University of Manitoba, CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D061848:Optical Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D016615:Telomere / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; buccal cells; telomeres