Telomere length tracking in children and their parents: implications for adult onset diseases

Abstract

Adults with comparatively short or long leukocyte telomere length (LTL) typically continue to display comparatively short or long LTL throughout life. This LTL tracking stems from the inability of person-to-person variation in age-dependent LTL shortening during adulthood to offset the wide interindividual LTL variation established prior to adult life. However, LTL tracking in children is unstudied. This study aimed to examine LTL shortening rates and tracking in children and their parents. Longitudinal study in children (n = 67) and their parents (n = 99), whose ages at baseline were 11.4 6 0.3 and 43.4 6 0.4 yr, respectively. LTL was measured by Southern blotting at baseline and ∼14 yr thereafter. LTL displayed tracking in both children [intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.905, P < 0.001] and their parents (ICC = 0.856, P < 0.001). The children's rate of LTL shortening was twice that of their parents (40.7 6 2.5 bp/yr; 20.3 6 2.1 bp/yr, respectively; P < 0.0001). LTL tracking applies not only to adulthood but also to the second decade of life. Coupled with previous work showing that the interindividual variation in LTL across newborns is as wide as in their parents, these findings support the thesis that the LTL-adult disease connection is principally determined before the second decade of life, perhaps mainly at birth.

The Importance of Telomere Shortening for Atherosclerosis and Mortality

“…Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation appear to be important mediators of telomere shortening that can be affected by multiple factors, including B-vitamins, HCY, and others. Despite promising results from epidemiologic studies, pronounced intra- and interindividual variability hamper a wider application of LTL measurements in clinical practice [ 22 , 26 , 143 ]. Limited comparability between methods and laboratories further compromises the utility of LTL measurements on an individual basis [ 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 ].…”

“…African Americans have longer LTL compared to White Americans [ 22 ]. LTL tracking in 67 children and 99 of their parents over a period of approximately 14 years showed that telomere attrition in adults is only half of that in children (20.3 vs. 40.7 bp/year) [ 26 ].…”

High heritability of telomere length, but low evolvability, and no significant heritability of telomere shortening in wild jackdaws

“…To understand how TL may play a role in shaping life-histories from an evolutionary perspective, it is necessary to quantify its additive genetic variance and resulting heritability that natural selection can act upon. However, heritability estimates of TL differ largely between studies, and to what extent variation in TL is due to inheritance or whether it is mainly driven by the environment, is therefore still under debate (Atema et al, 2015;Benetos et al, 2019;Broer et al, 2013;Dugdale & Richardson, 2018). Differences in the genetic background of populations, temporal-spatial variation of environmental influences, and methodological differences including limitations to separate genetic and environmental effects can all underlie variation in heritability estimates between studies (Becker et al, 2015, Dugdale & Richardson, 2018).…”

“…TL at any given age is defined by the initial TL as transferred through the parental gametes and the TL change from the zygote stage onwards, and, like TL itself, TL dynamics varies under the influence of both genes and the environment. For example, TL generally shortens with increased exposure to various (environmental) stressors (Angelier, Costantini, Blévin, & Chastel, 2018;Bauch, Becker, & Verhulst, 2013;Boonekamp, Mulder, Salomons, Dijkstra, & Verhulst, 2014;Hall et al, 2004;Kotrschal, Ilmonen, & Penn, 2007;McLennan et al, 2016;Young, Barger, Dorresteijn, Haussmann, & Kitaysky, 2013), and telomere shortening is typically faster early in life (Benetos et al, 2019;Salomons et al;2009, Spurgin et al, 2018.…”

Telomere length in granulosa cells and leukocytes: a potential marker of female fertility? A systematic review of the literature

“…Leukocyte telomere length (LTL), the most studied telomere length in clinical and epidemiological studies due to the easy accessibility of leukocytes, decreases with age [ 24 ]. The LTL attrition rate is higher in utero and during the first years of life and then it decreases during adulthood [ 25 – 27 ]. In adults, LTL attrition rates are estimated at 25 to 35 bp/year [ 28 ].…”