Shortened Telomere Length in Sputum Cells of Bronchiectasis Patients is Associated with Dysfunctional Inflammatory Pathways.
Hui Fang LimNadia Suray TanRoghayeh DehghanMeixin ShenMei Fong LiewStella Wei Lee BeeYee Yen SiaJianjun LiuChiea Chuen KhorImmanuel KwokLai Guan NgVeronique AngeliRajkumar DorajooPublished in: Lung (2022)
Telomere attrition is an established ageing biomarker and shorter peripheral blood leukocyte telomere length has been associated with increased risks of respiratory diseases. However, whether telomere length in disease-relevant sputum immune cells of chronic respiratory disease patients is shortened and which pathways are dysfunctional are not clear. Here we measured telomere length from sputum samples of bronchiectasis and asthmatic subjects and determined that telomere length in sputum of bronchiectasis subjects was significantly shorter (Beta = - 1.167, P Adj = 2.75 × 10 -4 ). We further performed global gene expression analysis and identified genes involved in processes such as NLRP3 inflammasome activation and regulation of adaptive immune cells when bronchiectasis sputum telomere length was shortened. Our study provides insights on dysfunctions related to shortened telomere length in sputum immune cells of bronchiectasis patients.
Keyphrases
- cystic fibrosis
- end stage renal disease
- mycobacterium tuberculosis
- ejection fraction
- newly diagnosed
- pulmonary tuberculosis
- peripheral blood
- prognostic factors
- nlrp inflammasome
- lung function
- peritoneal dialysis
- risk assessment
- signaling pathway
- patient reported outcomes
- induced apoptosis
- transcription factor
- air pollution
- climate change
- copy number