Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the most prevalent chronic conditions that occur worldwide. Ranging from hypertension to ischaemic heart disease to heart failure, they are the leading cause of death worldwide. Approximately 17 million people died from CVDs in 2019.
Telomere Caps
The financial, mental, and physical burden continues to increase every year. Most CVDs can be prevented by lifestyle adjustments and addressing behavioral risk factors like a sedentary lifestyle, tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and alcohol consumption. Early detection is necessary to achieve a better disease outcome.
Telomere length and CVDs
Table of Contents
Aging is also a major risk factor for Cardiovascular diseases. Reports show solid evidence that the prevalence of CVDs increases as age increases. CVDs are also a major cause of chronic disability in the elderly reducing their quality of life and causing early death. Several studies have reported that the shortening of telomeres of leukocytes (white blood cells) is a risk factor for developing CVDs.
Telomeres are DNA complexes found at the tail ends of chromosomes that are responsible for genome protection and integrity. Over the course of a lifetime and with each successive cell division, telomeres shorten. These mark cellular aging, DNA damage, and genomic instability. Some cells in the body like bloodline cells, germ cells, white blood cells (WBCs), and some cancerous cells have a high activity of an enzyme called telomerase which prevents telomere shortening and thereby increases cell turnover.
However, with time the activity of telomerase diminishes. Aging cells contribute to tissue inflammation and the occurrence of aging-related diseases. The diseases come with more inflammation and oxidative stress which further shorten telomere length.
Various studies have discovered a negative association between the telomere length of WBCs and the risk of developing CVDs like heart failure and coronary artery disease. Another explanation for this could also be that different people have different telomere lengths and as such come down with different clinical outcomes.
Genetic relationship between WBC telomere length and six CVDs
Jun Qiao et al. decided to carry out a large-scale genome-wide analysis using data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS), they analyzed recent data of 464,716 people with European ancestry. They also included GWAS summary statistics for six major CVDs which were atrial fibrillation, venous thromboembolism, peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure, and analyzed shared genetic connection with telomere length. Results identified significant genetic overlap, pathways, and protein targets. These confirm the genetic involvement in these CVDs.
Clinical Significance
Beyond mere assumptions, the study broadens our knowledge and offers new insights into the genetic mechanism underlying WBC telomere length and some CVDs. These results also point out the roles of telomeres and telomerase in cardiovascular health and imply that targeting the activities of these molecules can be an effective intervention against cardiovascular diseases. This is plausible as there is already research aiming at achieving immortality (or at least slowing aging) through increasing telomerase activity.
However, this study was based on people of European ancestry, we might get different values if we analyze data from other races who have different cardiovascular disease statistics. Also, it will be beneficial to analyze other cardiovascular diseases taking into account that the biological mechanism and causative factors might vary.
References
Contribution of leukocyte telomere length to major cardiovascular diseases onset: phenotypic and genetic insights from a large-scale genome-wide cross-trait analysis.
Jun Qiao, Qian Wang, Yuhui Zhao, Minjing Chang, Liuyang Cai, Feng Liu, Kaixin Yao, Leilei Zheng, Ning Tan, Pengcheng He, Anil G. Jegga, Siim Pauklin, Lei Jiang, Yining Yang, Yuliang Feng (2024). medRxiv 05.20.24307614; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.20.24307614
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