Association Of Telomerase Activity With The Prognosis Of Diabetes Mellitus In Saudi Population

Abstract

Telomeres are important for chromosome stability and they are replenished by telomerase enzyme. Impaired telomerase activity has a strong association with ageing and diabetes. Research data have shown that telomerase activity plays a vital role in pathogenesis of type I and type II diabetes by influencing pancreatic cell regeneration. This study was aimed to assess telomerase activity in three diabetic groups (type I, type II and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)) and compare it with a population with normal blood glucose levels to establish a correlation between reduced telomerase activity and prognosis of diabetes in the Saudi population. This study was conducted on 200 Saudi diabetic and non-diabetic participants (20-60 years). Peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNCs) were extracted from the blood samples and the activity of telomerase in the PMNCs was detected by the TRAP-ELISA assay. Results of study revealed that there was no telomerase activity in control healthy group, moderate activity in type I, some activity in GDM, and significantly high activity in type II group. This might indicate that telomerase activity has a strong correlation to the prognosis of type II diabetes. However, the molecular mechanism still needs to be investigated. .