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Telomeres and cardiovascular disease: new perspectives in hypertension

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 25, pages 703–704 (2011)Cite this article

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The interest in telomere biology has steadily increased over the years and got a new impetus following the award of a Nobel Prize to three American researchers (Blackburn, Greider, Szostak) in 2009 and a number of international meetings, most recently a Berzelius symposium on telomere biology in Stockholm, Sweden, in May 2011.

It is well described that telomeres form the end segment of the chromosomal helix and are of importance for end-protection between and during cell replication.1 The telomere length is primarily regulated by genetic factors acting on the regulating enzyme telomerase,2 but also some environmental factors have been shown to influence telomere length or telomerase activity, also based on intervention studies.3 Many conditions with features of early biological ageing have been associated with shorter telomeres, but also some more common chronic disease conditions. Most studies until recently have been cross-sectional by design and there is a lack of prospective studies. Different laboratory methods are available for the determination of relative telomere length (quantitative PCR), or absolute telomere length, including the proportion of short telomeres (Southern blot). There also exist other methods based on immunofluorescence (fluorescence in situ hybridization). This has contributed to some controversy, as different studies apply different methods that sometimes do not agree well with each other. Another problem is whether telomere length determination in peripheral white blood cells (leukocytes, lymphocytes) really reflect the tissue cell telomere length, for example, in the cardiovascular system.

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  1. Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden

    P M Nilsson

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Nilsson, P. Telomeres and cardiovascular disease: new perspectives in hypertension. J Hum Hypertens 25, 703–704 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2011.69

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