@article {pmid38760657,
year = {2024},
author = {Moix, S and Sadler, MC and Kutalik, Z and Auwerx, C},
title = {Breaking down causes, consequences, and mediating effects of telomere length variation on human health.},
journal = {Genome biology},
volume = {25},
number = {1},
pages = {125},
pmid = {38760657},
issn = {1474-760X},
support = {310030_189147//Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung/ ; },
mesh = {Humans ; Male ; Female ; *Telomere/metabolism/genetics ; *Mendelian Randomization Analysis ; Telomere Shortening ; Middle Aged ; Leukocytes/metabolism ; Aged ; Telomere Homeostasis ; Life Style ; Adult ; Body Mass Index ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Telomeres form repeated DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes, which shorten with each cell division. Yet, factors modulating telomere attrition and the health consequences thereof are not fully understood. To address this, we leveraged data from 326,363 unrelated UK Biobank participants of European ancestry.

RESULTS: Using linear regression and bidirectional univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR), we elucidate the relationships between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and 142 complex traits, including diseases, biomarkers, and lifestyle factors. We confirm that telomeres shorten with age and show a stronger decline in males than in females, with these factors contributing to the majority of the 5.4% of LTL variance explained by the phenome. MR reveals 23 traits modulating LTL. Smoking cessation and high educational attainment associate with longer LTL, while weekly alcohol intake, body mass index, urate levels, and female reproductive events, such as childbirth, associate with shorter LTL. We also identify 24 traits affected by LTL, with risk for cardiovascular, pulmonary, and some autoimmune diseases being increased by short LTL, while longer LTL increased risk for other autoimmune conditions and cancers. Through multivariable MR, we show that LTL may partially mediate the impact of educational attainment, body mass index, and female age at childbirth on proxied lifespan.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study sheds light on the modulators, consequences, and the mediatory role of telomeres, portraying an intricate relationship between LTL, diseases, lifestyle, and socio-economic factors.},
}

Humans
Male
Female
*Telomere/metabolism/genetics
*Mendelian Randomization Analysis
Telomere Shortening
Middle Aged
Leukocytes/metabolism
Aged
Telomere Homeostasis
Life Style
Adult
Body Mass Index

@article {pmid38757009,
year = {2024},
author = {Pańczyszyn, A and Boniewska-Bernacka, E and Włodarczyk, K and Wertel, I and Goc, A},
title = {Telomeres and telomerase in endometrial cancer and hyperplasia.},
journal = {Archives of medical science : AMS},
volume = {20},
number = {2},
pages = {682-685},
pmid = {38757009},
issn = {1734-1922},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: The study aimed to measure telomeres length (TL) and telomerase expression in normal endometrium and endometrial hyperplasia and cancer.

METHODS: Total RNA and DNA were isolated from endometrium samples of 117 patients. The RT-PCR method was used to determine telomerase expression and relative telomere length.

RESULTS: The control group had the longest telomeres in comparison to the hyperplasia and endometrial cancer groups. Only in the endometrial cancer group was telomerase expressed and positively correlated with telomere length.

CONCLUSIONS: Telomere extension in endometrial cancer is mediated by telomerase, but telomere length may not be an indicator of endometrioid cancer development.},
}

@article {pmid38755232,
year = {2024},
author = {Grula, CC and Rinehart, JD and Anacleto, A and Kittilson, JD and Heidinger, BJ and Greenlee, KJ and Rinehart, JP and Bowsher, JH},
title = {Telomere length is longer following diapause in two solitary bee species.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {11208},
pmid = {38755232},
issn = {2045-2322},
support = {3060-21220-032-00D.//USDA-ARS/ ; 1557940//NSF-IOS/ ; FEC 1826834//NSF RII Track-2/ ; },
mesh = {Animals ; Bees/genetics/physiology ; *Telomere/genetics/metabolism ; Pupa/growth & development/genetics ; Female ; Male ; Telomere Homeostasis ; Larva/genetics/growth & development/physiology ; Diapause/genetics ; },
abstract = {The mechanisms that underlie senescence are not well understood in insects. Telomeres are conserved repetitive sequences at chromosome ends that protect DNA during replication. In many vertebrates, telomeres shorten during cell division and in response to stress and are often used as a cellular marker of senescence. However, little is known about telomere dynamics across the lifespan in invertebrates. We measured telomere length in larvae, prepupae, pupae, and adults of two species of solitary bees, Osmia lignaria and Megachile rotundata. Contrary to our predictions, telomere length was longer in later developmental stages in both O. lignaria and M. rotundata. Longer telomeres occurred after emergence from diapause, which is a physiological state with increased tolerance to stress. In O. lignaria, telomeres were longer in adults when they emerged following diapause. In M. rotundata, telomeres were longer in the pupal stage and subsequent adult stage, which occurs after prepupal diapause. In both species, telomere length did not change during the 8 months of diapause. Telomere length did not differ by mass similarly across species or sex. We also did not see a difference in telomere length after adult O. lignaria were exposed to a nutritional stress, nor did length change during their adult lifespan. Taken together, these results suggest that telomere dynamics in solitary bees differ from what is commonly reported in vertebrates and suggest that insect diapause may influence telomere dynamics.},
}

Animals
Bees/genetics/physiology
*Telomere/genetics/metabolism
Pupa/growth & development/genetics
Female
Male
Telomere Homeostasis
Larva/genetics/growth & development/physiology
Diapause/genetics

@article {pmid38755561,
year = {2024},
author = {Stephens, Z and Kocher, JP},
title = {Characterization of telomere variant repeats using long reads enables allele-specific telomere length estimation.},
journal = {BMC bioinformatics},
volume = {25},
number = {1},
pages = {194},
pmid = {38755561},
issn = {1471-2105},
abstract = {Telomeres are regions of repetitive DNA at the ends of linear chromosomes which protect chromosome ends from degradation. Telomere lengths have been extensively studied in the context of aging and disease, though most studies use average telomere lengths which are of limited utility. We present a method for identifying all 92 telomere alleles from long read sequencing data. Individual telomeres are identified using variant repeats proximal to telomere regions, which are unique across alleles. This high-throughput and high-resolution characterization of telomeres could be foundational to future studies investigating the roles of specific telomeres in aging and disease.},
}

@article {pmid38755031,
year = {2024},
author = {Giri, P and Thakor, F and Dwivedi, M},
title = {Implication of regulatory T cells' telomere shortening in pathogenesis of generalized vitiligo.},
journal = {Human immunology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {110812},
doi = {10.1016/j.humimm.2024.110812},
pmid = {38755031},
issn = {1879-1166},
abstract = {Generalized vitiligo(GV) is a skin depigmenting condition due to loss of melanocytes. Regulatory T cells(Tregs), responsible for peripheral tolerance, show altered numbers and functions in GV patients, likely influenced by the aging process. Therefore, the present study was focused on measuring the relative telomere length of Tregs in 96 GV patients and 90 controls by qPCR, along with correlation of relative telomere length with in vitro Treg suppressive capacity. Interestingly, we found significantly decreased relative telomere length in Tregs of GV patients as compared to controls(p = 0.0001). Additionally, age based-analysis suggested significant decrease in relative telomere length in elderly GV patients(>40 years) in comparison to young GV patients(0-20 years; p = 0.0027). Furthermore, age of onset analysis suggested for reduced relative telomere length in early onset GV patients (0-20 years) in comparison to late onset GV patients(>40 years; p = 0.0036). The correlation analysis suggested positive correlation for relative telomere length with in vitro Tregs suppressive capacity(r = 0.68 & r = 0.45; p < 0.0001). Additionally, the in vitro Tregs suppressive capacity was significantly reduced in elderly GV patients(p = 0.003) and early onset GV patients(p = 0.0074). Overall, our study for the first time demonstrated that, the Tregs ageing due to telomere shortening may be responsible for altered Treg functions and number.},
}

@article {pmid38747543,
year = {2024},
author = {Kumar, S and Rajkumar, SV and Jevremovic, D and Kyle, RA and Shifrin, Y and Nguyen, M and Husain, Z and Alikhah, A and Jafari, A and Mai, S and Anderson, K and Louis, S},
title = {Three-dimensional telomere profiling predicts risk of progression in smoldering multiple myeloma.},
journal = {American journal of hematology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1002/ajh.27364},
pmid = {38747543},
issn = {1096-8652},
support = {//Telo Genomics Corp./ ; },
abstract = {Smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) is a precursor stage that precedes multiple myeloma (MM). SMM is heterogenous with nearly 40% of patients progressing to MM in the first 5 years. The high rate of progression of SMM patients highlights the need for early intervention, which underscores the importance of identifying SMM patients with the highest risk of progression. Several risk stratification models showed utility in identifying high-risk SMM patients; however, these systems showed limited sensitivity. To date, identifying high-risk SMM patients remains an important clinical need. In this study, we present the 3-dimensional telomere profiling as a structural biomarker capable of stratifying SMM patients as a function of genomic instability. Quantifying telomere dysfunction using the TeloView technology showed utility in risk stratification of cancer patients, particularly hematological malignancies. In this study, we analyzed 168 SMM patients. We report an AUC in ROC analysis of 0.8 using a subset of the patients as a training dataset. We then conducted a blind validation on a different cohort and demonstrated a positive predictive value of 85% and negative predictive value of 73%, with sensitivity and specificity of 83% and 76%, respectively. We examined the correlation between the TeloView prediction and the 20-2-20 scoring system, and cytogenetic abnormalities. We report a correlation of 53% with the 20-2-20 scores and over 60% correlation with cytogenetic abnormalities. The result of this study presents the telomere profiling as an effective biomarker able to stratify SMM patients to their respective risk groups with high sensitivity and specificity.},
}

@article {pmid38747360,
year = {2024},
author = {Nanda, A and Logan, A and Tennyson, RL},
title = {The influence of perceived stress and motivation on telomere length among NCAA swimmers.},
journal = {American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e24091},
doi = {10.1002/ajhb.24091},
pmid = {38747360},
issn = {1520-6300},
support = {//The Center for Leadership in Athletics at the University of Washington/ ; //Shanahan Endowment Fellowship/ ; T32 HD101442-01//Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development/ ; //Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology/ ; //University of Washington (UW)/ ; NIH/NIA5T32AG66574-2//Biological Mechanisms for Healthy Aging Training Grant/ ; //Mary Gates Endowment Fund for Research/ ; },
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Telomere length (TL) shortening is associated with increased cellular senescence and functional decline with age. Regular physical activity is posited to safeguard against TL shortening, but there is disagreement on how concurrent psychosocial stress may influence this relationship. The current analysis explored whether psychosocial stress is associated with TL differences in highly physically active individuals.

METHODS: TL was measured from capillary dried blood spots collected from Division-I (D-1) and Division-III (D-3) National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) swimmers (N = 28) and non-athlete students from the same schools (N = 15). All participants completed Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and student-athletes completed an additional questionnaire to assess psychosocial factors associated with their lifestyle; The Student Athletes' Motivation towards Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ). Semi-structured interviews further contextualized how student-athletes internalize their stress.

RESULTS: There was no significant difference in TL or PSS scores between swimmers and controls. D-1 swimmers reported significantly higher career and student-athlete motivation scores compared to D-3, but non-significantly higher PSS and similar academic motivation scores. Themes from interviews with collegiate swimmers included COVID-19 stress, fear of injury, pressure from academics, expectations to perform, and financial pressures.

CONCLUSIONS: These themes may have contributed to higher PSS scores in D-1 swimmers compared to D-3 but did not appear to impact their TL. Given differences in perceived stress, sources of stress, and SAMSAQ scores, further analyses with larger sample sizes are needed to better understand how these factors influence human biology and health while engaged in intense physical activity.},
}

@article {pmid38744897,
year = {2024},
author = {Siametis, A and Stratigi, K and Giamaki, D and Chatzinikolaou, G and Akalestou-Clocher, A and Goulielmaki, E and Luke, B and Schumacher, B and Garinis, GA},
title = {Transcription stress at telomeres leads to cytosolic DNA release and paracrine senescence.},
journal = {Nature communications},
volume = {15},
number = {1},
pages = {4061},
pmid = {38744897},
issn = {2041-1723},
support = {GA 64663//EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020)/ ; },
mesh = {*Cellular Senescence/genetics ; Animals ; *Telomere/metabolism/genetics ; Mice ; *Cytosol/metabolism ; *DNA Damage ; *Paracrine Communication ; DNA/metabolism ; Transcription, Genetic ; Mice, Knockout ; Humans ; Extracellular Vesicles/metabolism ; Genomic Instability ; Aging/genetics/metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; },
abstract = {Transcription stress has been linked to DNA damage -driven aging, yet the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that Tcea1[-/-] cells, which harbor a TFIIS defect in transcription elongation, exhibit RNAPII stalling at oxidative DNA damage sites, impaired transcription, accumulation of R-loops, telomere uncapping, chromatin bridges, and genome instability, ultimately resulting in cellular senescence. We found that R-loops at telomeres causally contribute to the release of telomeric DNA fragments in the cytoplasm of Tcea1[-/-] cells and primary cells derived from naturally aged animals triggering a viral-like immune response. TFIIS-defective cells release extracellular vesicles laden with telomeric DNA fragments that target neighboring cells, which consequently undergo cellular senescence. Thus, transcription stress elicits paracrine signals leading to cellular senescence, promoting aging.},
}

*Cellular Senescence/genetics
Animals
*Telomere/metabolism/genetics
Mice
*Cytosol/metabolism
*DNA Damage
*Paracrine Communication
DNA/metabolism
Transcription, Genetic
Mice, Knockout
Humans
Extracellular Vesicles/metabolism
Genomic Instability
Aging/genetics/metabolism
Oxidative Stress
Mice, Inbred C57BL

@article {pmid38743757,
year = {2024},
author = {Tannemann, N and Erbel, R and Nöthen, MM and Jöckel, KH and Pechlivanis, S},
title = {Genetic polymorphisms affecting telomere length and their association with cardiovascular disease in the Heinz-Nixdorf-Recall study.},
journal = {PloS one},
volume = {19},
number = {5},
pages = {e0303357},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0303357},
pmid = {38743757},
issn = {1932-6203},
mesh = {Humans ; *Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; *Cardiovascular Diseases/genetics ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; *Telomere/genetics ; *Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Risk Factors ; Telomere Homeostasis/genetics ; },
abstract = {Short telomeres are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to investigate, if genetically determined telomere-length effects CVD-risk in the Heinz-Nixdorf-Recall study (HNRS) population. We selected 14 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with telomere-length (p<10-8) from the literature and after exclusion 9 SNPs were included in the analyses. Additionally, a genetic risk score (GRS) using these 9 SNPs was calculated. Incident CVD was defined as fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary death. We included 3874 HNRS participants with available genetic data and had no known history of CVD at baseline. Cox proportional-hazards regression was used to test the association between the SNPs/GRS and incident CVD-risk adjusting for common CVD risk-factors. The analyses were further stratified by CVD risk-factors. During follow-up (12.1±4.31 years), 466 participants experienced CVD-events. No association between SNPs/GRS and CVD was observed in the adjusted analyses. However, the GRS, rs10936599, rs2487999 and rs8105767 increase the CVD-risk in current smoker. Few SNPs (rs10936599, rs2487999, and rs7675998) showed an increased CVD-risk, whereas rs10936599, rs677228 and rs4387287 a decreased CVD-risk, in further strata. The results of our study suggest different effects of SNPs/GRS on CVD-risk depending on the CVD risk-factor strata, highlighting the importance of stratified analyses in CVD risk-factors.},
}

Humans
*Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
*Cardiovascular Diseases/genetics
Male
Female
Middle Aged
Aged
*Telomere/genetics
*Genetic Predisposition to Disease
Risk Factors
Telomere Homeostasis/genetics

@article {pmid38743633,
year = {2024},
author = {Su, Y and Yang, X and Wang, Y and Li, J and Long, Q and Cao, S and Wang, X and Liu, Z and Huang, S and Chen, Z and Peng, Y and Zhang, F and Xue, H and Cao, X and Zhang, M and Yisilam, G and Chu, Z and Gao, Y and Zhou, Y and Liu, Z and Xiao, H and Tian, X},
title = {Phased Telomere-to-Telomere Reference Genome and Pangenome Reveal an Expansion of Resistance Genes during Apple Domestication.},
journal = {Plant physiology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/plphys/kiae258},
pmid = {38743633},
issn = {1532-2548},
abstract = {The cultivated apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) is a cross-pollinated perennial fruit tree of great economic importance. Previous versions of apple reference genomes were unphased, fragmented, and lacked comprehensive insights into the highly heterozygous genome, which impeded genetic studies and breeding programs in apple. In this study, we assembled a haplotype-resolved telomere-to-telomere reference genome for the diploid apple cultivar Golden Delicious. Subsequently, we constructed a pangenome based on twelve assemblies from wild and cultivated apples to investigate different types of resistance gene analogs (RGAs). Our results revealed the dynamics of the gene gain and loss events during apple domestication. Compared with cultivated species, more gene families in wild species were significantly enriched in oxidative phosphorylation, pentose metabolic process, responses to salt, and abscisic acid biosynthesis process. Interestingly, our analyses demonstrated a higher prevalence of RGAs in cultivated apples than their wild relatives, partially attributed to segmental and tandem duplication events in certain RGAs classes. Other types of structural variations, mainly deletions and insertions, have affected the presence and absence of TIR-NB-ARC-LRR (TNL), NB-ARC-LRR (NL), and CC-NB-ARC-LRR (CNL) genes. Additionally, hybridization/introgression from wild species has also contributed to the expansion of resistance genes in domesticated apples. Our haplotype-resolved T2T genome and pangenome provide important resources for genetic studies of apples, emphasizing the need to study the evolutionary mechanisms of resistance genes in apple breeding programs.},
}

@article {pmid38738582,
year = {2024},
author = {Rasouli, S and Dakic, A and Wang, QE and Mitchell, D and Blakaj, DM and Putluri, N and Li, J and Liu, X},
title = {Noncanonical functions of telomerase and telomeres in viruses-associated cancer.},
journal = {Journal of medical virology},
volume = {96},
number = {5},
pages = {e29665},
doi = {10.1002/jmv.29665},
pmid = {38738582},
issn = {1096-9071},
support = {R01CA222148/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; R33CA258016/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; R01CA276474/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; U01CA278927/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; R33CA258016/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; R01CA276474/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; U01CA278927/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; },
mesh = {*Telomerase/metabolism/genetics ; Humans ; *Neoplasms/virology/genetics ; *Telomere/metabolism ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics/pathogenicity/physiology ; RNA/metabolism/genetics ; },
abstract = {The cause of cancer is attributed to the uncontrolled growth and proliferation of cells resulting from genetic changes and alterations in cell behavior, a phenomenon known as epigenetics. Telomeres, protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, regulate both cellular aging and cancer formation. In most cancers, telomerase is upregulated, with the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) enzyme and telomerase RNA component (TERC) RNA element contributing to the maintenance of telomere length. Additionally, it is noteworthy that two viruses, human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), utilize telomerase for their replication or persistence in infected cells. Also, TERT and TERC may play major roles in cancer not related to telomere biology. They are involved in the regulation of gene expression, signal transduction pathways, cellular metabolism, or even immune response modulation. Furthermore, the crosstalk between TERT, TERC, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs contributes to a greater extent to cancer biology. To understand the multifaceted roles played by TERT and TERC in cancer and viral life cycles, and then to develop effective therapeutic strategies against these diseases, are fundamental for this goal. By investigating deeply, the complicated mechanisms and relationships between TERT and TERC, scientists will open the doors to new therapies. In its analysis, the review emphasizes the significance of gaining insight into the multifaceted roles that TERT and TERC play in cancer pathogenesis, as well as their involvement in the viral life cycle for designing effective anticancer therapy approaches.},
}

*Telomerase/metabolism/genetics
Humans
*Neoplasms/virology/genetics
*Telomere/metabolism
Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics/pathogenicity/physiology
RNA/metabolism/genetics

@article {pmid38735573,
year = {2024},
author = {Li, C and Zhang, Y and Zhang, K and Fu, H and Lin, L and Cai, G and Zhang, X and Yang, X and Zhang, Z and Yang, Z and Zhang, B},
title = {Association Between Ultra-Processed Foods Consumption and Leucocyte Telomere Length: A cross-sectional study of UK Biobank.},
journal = {The Journal of nutrition},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.001},
pmid = {38735573},
issn = {1541-6100},
abstract = {OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and leucocyte telomere length.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study utilized data from the UK Biobank, including a total of 64,690 participants. LTL was measured using Q-PCR with natural logarithmic conversion and Z-score normalization. Dietary data were collected through a 24-hour recall questionnaire from 2009 to 2010. UPFs were identified using the Nova food classification as either a continuous or a categorical variable respectively. Multiple linear regression models were employed to analyze the association between UPF consumption and LTL.

RESULTS: The included participants had an average age of 56.26 years, of whom 55.2% were female. After adjusting for demographic and health-related variables, LTL exhibited a decrease of 0.005 (95% CI:-0.007,-0.002) with one UPF serving increase. Compared to participants consuming ≤3.5 servings/day, those consuming 3.5 to <6 servings showed a shortening of LTL by 0.025 (95% CI: -0.046, -0.003). Participants consuming 6 to ≤8 servings/day and >8 servings/day had LTL shortening of 0.032 (95% CI: -0.054, -0.011) and 0.037 (95% CI: -0.060, -0.014), respectively (P for trend=0.002). Subgroup analyses by UPF subclasses revealed that the consumption of ready-to-eat/heated food (β=-0.010, 95% CI:-0.016,-0.004), beans and potatoes (β=-0.027, 95% CI:-0.043,-0.012), animal-based products (β=-0.012, 95% CI:-0.020,-0.005), artificial sugar (β=-0.014, 95% CI:-0.025,-0.003), and beverages (β=-0.005, 95% CI:-0.009,-0.001) showed negative associations with LTL. Conversely, breakfast cereals (β=0.022, 95% CI:0.006,0.038) and vegetarian alternatives (β=0.056, 95% CI:0.026,0.085) showed positive correlations with LTL.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that a higher consumption of total UPF was associated with a shorter LTL. However, some UPFs may be associated with longer LTL, depending on their nutritional composition.},
}

@article {pmid38731223,
year = {2024},
author = {Duseikaite, M and Gedvilaite, G and Mikuzis, P and Andrulionyte, J and Kriauciuniene, L and Liutkeviciene, R},
title = {Investigating the Relationship between Telomere-Related Gene Variants and Leukocyte Telomere Length in Optic Neuritis Patients.},
journal = {Journal of clinical medicine},
volume = {13},
number = {9},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/jcm13092694},
pmid = {38731223},
issn = {2077-0383},
abstract = {Optic neuritis (ON) is a condition marked by optic nerve inflammation due to various potential triggers. Research indicates a link between telomeres and inflammation, as studies demonstrate that inflammation can lead to increased telomere shortening. Aim: We aimed to determine the associations of telomere-related telomeric repeat binding factor 1 (TERF1) rs1545827, rs10107605, and telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (TERF2) rs251796 polymorphisms and relative leukocyte telomere length (LTL) with the occurrence of ON. Methods: In this research, a total of 73 individuals diagnosed with optic neuritis (ON) were studied and the control group included 170 individuals without any health issues. The DNA samples were obtained from peripheral blood leukocytes, which were purified using the DNA salting-out technique. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assessed single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and relative leukocyte telomere lengths (LTL). The data obtained were processed and analyzed using the "IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0" program. Results: Our study revealed the following results: in the male group, TERF2 rs251796 (AA, AG, and TT) statistically significantly differed between the long and short telomere group, with frequencies of 65.7%, 22.9%, and 2.0% in long telomeres, compared to 35.1%, 56.8%, and 8.1% in the short telomere group (p = 0.013). The TERF2 rs251796 CT genotype, compared to CC, under the codominant genetic model, was associated with 4.7-fold decreased odds of telomere shortening (p = 0.005). Meanwhile, CT+TT genotypes, compared to CC under the dominant genetic model, were associated with 3.5-fold decreased odds of telomere shortening (p = 0.011). Also, the CT genotype, compared to CC+TT, under the overdominant genetic model, was associated with 4.4-fold decreased odds of telomere shortening (p = 0.004). Conclusions: The current evidence may suggest a protective role of TERF2 rs251796 in the occurrence of ON in men.},
}

@article {pmid38730258,
year = {2024},
author = {Cheng, H and Asri, M and Lucas, J and Koren, S and Li, H},
title = {Scalable telomere-to-telomere assembly for diploid and polyploid genomes with double graph.},
journal = {Nature methods},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {38730258},
issn = {1548-7105},
support = {R01HG010040//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ ; U01HG010971//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ ; U41HG010972//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ ; K99HG012798//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ ; },
abstract = {Despite advances in long-read sequencing technologies, constructing a near telomere-to-telomere assembly is still computationally demanding. Here we present hifiasm (UL), an efficient de novo assembly algorithm combining multiple sequencing technologies to scale up population-wide near telomere-to-telomere assemblies. Applied to 22 human and two plant genomes, our algorithm produces better diploid assemblies at a cost of an order of magnitude lower than existing methods, and it also works with polyploid genomes.},
}

@article {pmid38729362,
year = {2024},
author = {Lozano, M and McEachan, RRC and Wright, J and Yang, TC and Dow, C and Kadawathagedara, M and Lepeule, J and Bustamante, M and Maitre, L and Vrijheid, M and Brantsæter, AL and Meltzer, HM and Bempi, V and Roumeliotaki, T and Thomsen, C and Nawrot, T and Broberg, K and Llop, S},
title = {Early life exposure to mercury and relationships with telomere length and mitochondrial DNA content in European children.},
journal = {The Science of the total environment},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {173014},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173014},
pmid = {38729362},
issn = {1879-1026},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Telomere length (TL) and mitochondrial function expressed as mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) are biomarkers of aging and oxidative stress and inflammation, respectively. Methylmercury (MeHg), a common pollutant in fish, induces oxidative stress. We hypothesized that elevated oxidative stress from exposure to MeHg decreases mtDNAcn and shortens TL.

METHODS: Study participants are 6-11-year-old children from the HELIX multi-center birth cohort study, comprising six European countries. Prenatal and postnatal total mercury (THg) concentrations were measured in blood samples, TL and mtDNAcn were determined in child DNA. Covariates and confounders were obtained by questionnaires. Robust regression models were run, considering sociodemographic and lifestyle covariates, as well as fish consumption. Sex, ethnicity, and fish consumption interaction models were also run.

RESULTS: We found longer TL with higher pre- and postnatal THg blood concentrations, even at low-level THg exposure according to the RfD proposed by the US EPA. The prenatal association showed a significant linear relationship with a 3.46 % increase in TL for each unit increased THg. The postnatal association followed an inverted U-shaped marginal non-linear relationship with 1.38 % an increase in TL for each unit increased THg until reaching a cut-point at 0.96 μg/L blood THg, from which TL attrition was observed. Higher pre- and postnatal blood THg concentrations were consistently related to longer TL among cohorts and no modification effect of fish consumption nor children's sex was observed. No association between THg exposure and mtDNAcn was found.

DISCUSSION: We found evidence that THg is associated with TL but the associations seem to be time- and concentration-dependent. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanism behind the telomere changes of THg and related health effects.},
}

@article {pmid38718720,
year = {2024},
author = {Ogłuszka, M and Chen, CY and Poławska, E and Starzyński, RR and Liput, K and Siekierko, U and Pareek, CS and Pierzchała, M and Kang, JX},
title = {Elevated tissue status of omega-3 fatty acids protects against age-related telomere attrition in fat-1 transgenic mice.},
journal = {Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland)},
volume = {43},
number = {6},
pages = {1488-1494},
doi = {10.1016/j.clnu.2024.05.001},
pmid = {38718720},
issn = {1532-1983},
abstract = {BACKGROUND & AIMS: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biomarker of aging that may be influenced by dietary factors. Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA) have been suggested to affect LTL. However, research on this effect has been inconclusive. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis about the positive effect of n-3 FA on LTL.

METHODS: Fat-1 transgenic mice, which can convert omega-6 fatty acids (n-6 FA) to n-3 FA and have elevated levels of endogenous n-3 FA in their tissues, were used to study the effects of n-3 FA on LTL at different ages. Blood samples from 10-month-old wild-type (WT) mice (n = 10) and fat-1 mice (n = 10) and 3-month-old WT mice (n = 5) and fat-1 mice (n = 5) were used to measure relative and absolute LTL. The levels of proteins critical for telomere maintenance were examined by Western blot analysis.

RESULTS: Fat-1 transgenic mice had longer leukocyte telomeres than their WT siblings, suggesting a slower rate of age-related telomere shortening in fat-1 mice. In animals aged 10 months, the LTL was significantly longer in fat-1 than in WT mice (mean ± SEM; relative LTL: WT = 1.00 ± 0.09 vs. fat-1: 1.25 ± 0.05, P = 0.031; absolute LTL: WT = 64.41 ± 6.50 vs. fat-1: 78.53 ± 3.86, P = 0.048). The difference in LTL observed in three-month-old mice was insignificant, however the mean LTL was still longer in fat-1 mice than in the WT mice. Fat-1 mice also had abundant levels of two shelterin proteins: TRF1 (27%, P = 0.028) and TRF2 (47%, P = 0.040) (telomeric repeat binding factor 1 and 2) compared to WT animals.

CONCLUSION: This study, for the first time in a unique animal model free of dietary confounders, has demonstrated that increased levels of n-3 FA in tissues can reduce telomere attrition. The data presented indicate the possibility of using omega-3 fatty acids to reduce accelerated telomere attrition and, consequently, counteract premature aging and reduce the risk of age-related diseases.},
}

@article {pmid38714889,
year = {2024},
author = {Wondisford, AR and Lee, J and Lu, R and Schuller, M and Groslambert, J and Bhargava, R and Schamus-Haynes, S and Cespedes, LC and Opresko, PL and Pickett, HA and Min, J and Ahel, I and O'Sullivan, RJ},
title = {Deregulated DNA ADP-ribosylation impairs telomere replication.},
journal = {Nature structural & molecular biology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {38714889},
issn = {1545-9985},
abstract = {The recognition that DNA can be ADP ribosylated provides an unexpected regulatory level of how ADP-ribosylation contributes to genome stability, epigenetics and immunity. Yet, it remains unknown whether DNA ADP-ribosylation (DNA-ADPr) promotes genome stability and how it is regulated. Here, we show that telomeres are subject to DNA-ADPr catalyzed by PARP1 and removed by TARG1. Mechanistically, we show that DNA-ADPr is coupled to lagging telomere DNA strand synthesis, forming at single-stranded DNA present at unligated Okazaki fragments and on the 3' single-stranded telomere overhang. Persistent DNA-linked ADPr, due to TARG1 deficiency, eventually leads to telomere shortening. Furthermore, using the bacterial DNA ADP-ribosyl-transferase toxin to modify DNA at telomeres directly, we demonstrate that unhydrolyzed DNA-linked ADP-ribose compromises telomere replication and telomere integrity. Thus, by identifying telomeres as chromosomal targets of PARP1 and TARG1-regulated DNA-ADPr, whose deregulation compromises telomere replication and integrity, our study highlights and establishes the critical importance of controlling DNA-ADPr turnover for sustained genome stability.},
}

@article {pmid38708177,
year = {2024},
author = {Tao, HY and Zhao, CY and Wang, Y and Sheng, WJ and Zhen, YS},
title = {Targeting Telomere Dynamics as an Effective Approach for the Development of Cancer Therapeutics.},
journal = {International journal of nanomedicine},
volume = {19},
number = {},
pages = {3805-3825},
pmid = {38708177},
issn = {1178-2013},
mesh = {Humans ; *Neoplasms/drug therapy/therapy ; *Telomere/drug effects ; *Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology/chemistry ; *Telomerase/antagonists & inhibitors ; Animals ; Drug Delivery Systems/methods ; Nanoparticles/chemistry ; Immunotherapy/methods ; Neoplastic Stem Cells/drug effects ; },
abstract = {Telomere is a protective structure located at the end of chromosomes of eukaryotes, involved in maintaining the integrity and stability of the genome. Telomeres play an essential role in cancer progression; accordingly, targeting telomere dynamics emerges as an effective approach for the development of cancer therapeutics. Targeting telomere dynamics may work through multifaceted molecular mechanisms; those include the activation of anti-telomerase immune responses, shortening of telomere lengths, induction of telomere dysfunction and constitution of telomerase-responsive drug release systems. In this review, we summarize a wide variety of telomere dynamics-targeted agents in preclinical studies and clinical trials, and reveal their promising therapeutic potential in cancer therapy. As shown, telomere dynamics-active agents are effective as anti-cancer chemotherapeutics and immunotherapeutics. Notably, these agents may display efficacy against cancer stem cells, reducing cancer stem levels. Furthermore, these agents can be integrated with the capability of tumor-specific drug delivery by the constitution of related nanoparticles, antibody drug conjugates and HSA-based drugs.},
}

Humans
*Neoplasms/drug therapy/therapy
*Telomere/drug effects
*Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology/chemistry
*Telomerase/antagonists & inhibitors
Animals
Drug Delivery Systems/methods
Nanoparticles/chemistry
Immunotherapy/methods
Neoplastic Stem Cells/drug effects

@article {pmid38706908,
year = {2024},
author = {Yan, M and Zhang, Z and Wang, L and Huang, H and Wang, J and Zhu, C and Li, Z and Xu, Z},
title = {Cross-talk of Three Molecular Subtypes of Telomere Maintenance Defines Clinical Characteristics and Tumor Microenvironment in Gastric Cancer.},
journal = {Journal of Cancer},
volume = {15},
number = {10},
pages = {3227-3241},
pmid = {38706908},
issn = {1837-9664},
abstract = {Background: Telomere maintenance takes part in the regulation of gastric cancer (GC) pathogenesis and is essential for patients' clinical features. Though the correlation between a single telomere maintenance-related gene and GC has previously been published, comprehensive exploration and systematic analysis remain to be studied. Our study is aimed at determining telomere maintenance-related molecular subtypes and examining their role in GC. Methods: By analyzing the transcriptome data, we identified three telomere maintenance-associated clusters (TMCs) with heterogeneity in clinical features and tumor microenvironment (TME). Then, we screened five prognostic telomere maintenance-related genes and established corresponding TM scores. Additionally, the expression level and biological function of tubulin beta 6 class V (TUBB6) were validated in GC tissues and cells. Results: TMC1 was correlated with EMT and TGF-beta pathway and predicted low tumor mutation burden (TMB) as well as bad prognostic outcomes. TMC3 was associated with cell cycle and DNA repair. In terms of TMB and overall survival, TMC3 exhibited opposite results against TMC1. Significant heterogeneity was observed between TMCs. TUBB6 was upregulated and could promote GC proliferation, migration, and invasion. Conclusion: Altogether, combining bioinformatics and functional experiments, we identified three molecular subtypes based on telomere maintenance-associated genes in GC, which could bring new ideas and novel biomarkers to the clinic.},
}

@article {pmid38701745,
year = {2024},
author = {McQuillan, MA and Verhulst, S and Hansen, MEB and Beggs, W and Meskel, DW and Belay, G and Nyambo, T and Mpoloka, SW and Mokone, GG and Fokunang, C and Njamnshi, AK and Chanock, SJ and Aviv, A and Tishkoff, SA},
title = {Association between telomere length and Plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity in sub-Saharan Africans.},
journal = {American journal of human genetics},
volume = {111},
number = {5},
pages = {927-938},
doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.04.003},
pmid = {38701745},
issn = {1537-6605},
mesh = {Humans ; *Malaria, Falciparum/genetics/epidemiology/parasitology ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Africa South of the Sahara/epidemiology ; *Telomere/genetics ; Endemic Diseases ; Plasmodium falciparum/genetics/pathogenicity ; Black People/genetics ; Middle Aged ; Leukocytes/metabolism ; Telomere Homeostasis/genetics ; Young Adult ; Sub-Saharan African People ; },
abstract = {Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) varies significantly across human populations, with individuals of African ancestry having longer LTL than non-Africans. However, the genetic and environmental drivers of LTL variation in Africans remain largely unknown. We report here on the relationship between LTL, genetics, and a variety of environmental and climatic factors in ethnically diverse African adults (n = 1,818) originating from Botswana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Cameroon. We observe significant variation in LTL among populations, finding that the San hunter-gatherers from Botswana have the longest leukocyte telomeres and that the Fulani pastoralists from Cameroon have the shortest telomeres. Genetic factors explain ∼50% of LTL variation among individuals. Moreover, we observe a significant negative association between Plasmodium falciparum malaria endemicity and LTL while adjusting for age, sex, and genetics. Within Africa, adults from populations indigenous to areas with high malaria exposure have shorter LTL than those in populations indigenous to areas with low malaria exposure. Finally, we explore to what degree the genetic architecture underlying LTL in Africa covaries with malaria exposure.},
}

Humans
*Malaria, Falciparum/genetics/epidemiology/parasitology
Male
Female
Adult
Africa South of the Sahara/epidemiology
*Telomere/genetics
Endemic Diseases
Plasmodium falciparum/genetics/pathogenicity
Black People/genetics
Middle Aged
Leukocytes/metabolism
Telomere Homeostasis/genetics
Young Adult
Sub-Saharan African People

@article {pmid38696464,
year = {2024},
author = {Lee, J and Lee, J and Sohn, EJ and Taglialatela, A and O'Sullivan, RJ and Ciccia, A and Min, J},
title = {Extrachromosomal telomere DNA derived from excessive strand displacements.},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
volume = {121},
number = {19},
pages = {e2318438121},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2318438121},
pmid = {38696464},
issn = {1091-6490},
support = {CA207209//HHS | NIH | National Cancer Institute (NCI)/ ; CA262316//HHS | NIH | National Cancer Institute (NCI)/ ; CA197774//HHS | NIH | National Cancer Institute (NCI)/ ; CA245259//HHS | NIH | National Cancer Institute (NCI)/ ; },
mesh = {*Telomere/genetics/metabolism ; Humans ; *DNA, Single-Stranded/metabolism/genetics ; *Telomere Homeostasis ; DNA Replication ; DNA/genetics/metabolism ; DNA, Circular/genetics/metabolism ; Blotting, Southern ; DNA Polymerase III/metabolism/genetics ; },
abstract = {Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is a telomere maintenance mechanism mediated by break-induced replication, evident in approximately 15% of human cancers. A characteristic feature of ALT cancers is the presence of C-circles, circular single-stranded telomeric DNAs composed of C-rich sequences. Despite the fact that extrachromosomal C-rich single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs), including C-circles, are unique to ALT cells, their generation process remains undefined. Here, we introduce a method to detect single-stranded telomeric DNA, called 4SET (Strand-Specific Southern-blot for Single-stranded Extrachromosomal Telomeres) assay. Utilizing 4SET, we are able to capture C-rich single-stranded DNAs that are near 200 to 1500 nucleotides in size. Both linear C-rich ssDNAs and C-circles are abundant in the fractions of cytoplasm and nucleoplasm, which supports the idea that linear and circular C-rich ssDNAs are generated concurrently. We also found that C-rich ssDNAs originate during Okazaki fragment processing during lagging strand DNA synthesis. The generation of C-rich ssDNA requires CST-PP (CTC1/STN1/TEN1-PRIMASE-Polymerase alpha) complex-mediated priming of the C-strand DNA synthesis and subsequent excessive strand displacement of the C-rich strand mediated by the DNA Polymerase delta and the BLM helicase. Our work proposes a model for the generation of C-rich ssDNAs and C-circles during ALT-mediated telomere elongation.},
}

*Telomere/genetics/metabolism
Humans
*DNA, Single-Stranded/metabolism/genetics
*Telomere Homeostasis
DNA Replication
DNA/genetics/metabolism
DNA, Circular/genetics/metabolism
Blotting, Southern
DNA Polymerase III/metabolism/genetics

@article {pmid38695985,
year = {2024},
author = {Fragkiadaki, P and Kouvidi, E and Angelaki, A and Nikolopoulou, D and Vakonaki, E and Tsatsakis, A},
title = {Evaluation of telomere length and telomerase activity on predicting in vitro fertilization treatment outcomes.},
journal = {Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {38695985},
issn = {1573-7330},
abstract = {The current article is a literature review aiming to provide an overview of the existing knowledge on the association between telomere length and telomerase activity and in vitro fertilization. Recently, telomeres have been used as an effective biomarker to determine biological age, which may differ from chronological age due to genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Cellular senescence, along with other exogenous and mainly environmental factors, can enhance telomere wear, further shortening their ends and may also affect reproductive aging. IVF is a common fertility treatment caused by female reasons (age, ovulation disorders, damaged or blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis), male reasons (low sperm quantity or quality), or unexplained infertility. A growing number of studies have proposed a relationship between telomere length and telomerase activity and IVF success and have suggested their use as candidate biomarkers for IVF outcome. Nevertheless, additional studies are necessary to be conducted, in order to clarify the possible implication of telomeres in IVF and to evaluate their possible role as valuable predictors of IVF result.},
}

@article {pmid38695626,
year = {2024},
author = {Wirtz, L and Casanova, F and Schaffrath, U and Wegner, A},
title = {Development of a telomere vector-based approach to overcome limitations caused by lethal phenotypes in the study of essential genes in Magnaporthe oryzae.},
journal = {Molecular plant pathology},
volume = {25},
number = {5},
pages = {e13460},
doi = {10.1111/mpp.13460},
pmid = {38695626},
issn = {1364-3703},
support = {//RWTH Aachen University scholarships for Doctoral Students/ ; SCHA 631/11-1//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; },
mesh = {*Telomere/genetics ; *Phenotype ; *Genes, Essential ; *Genetic Vectors/genetics ; CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics ; Genes, Fungal/genetics ; Gene Deletion ; Magnaporthe/genetics/pathogenicity ; *Ascomycota ; },
abstract = {Reverse genetic approaches are common tools in genomics for elucidating gene functions, involving techniques such as gene deletion followed by screening for aberrant phenotypes. If the generation of gene deletion mutants fails, the question arises whether the failure stems from technical issues or because the gene of interest (GOI) is essential, meaning that the deletion causes lethality. In this report, we introduce a novel method for assessing gene essentiality using the phytopathogenic ascomycete Magnaporthe oryzae. The method is based on the observation that telomere vectors are lost in transformants during cultivation without selection pressure. We tested the hypothesis that essential genes can be identified in deletion mutants co-transformed with a telomere vector. The M. oryzae gene MoPKC, described in literature as essential, was chosen as GOI. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology transformants with deleted GOI were generated and backed up by a telomere vector carrying a copy of the GOI and conferring fenhexamid resistance. Transformants in which the GOI deletion in the genome was not successful lost the telomere vector on media without fenhexamid. In contrast, transformants with confirmed GOI deletion retained the telomere vector even in absence of fenhexamid selection. In the latter case, the maintenance of the telomere indicates that the GOI is essential for the surveillance of the fungi, as it would have been lost otherwise. The method presented here allows to test for essentiality of genes when no mutants can be obtained from gene deletion approaches, thereby expanding the toolbox for studying gene function in ascomycetes.},
}

*Telomere/genetics
*Phenotype
*Genes, Essential
*Genetic Vectors/genetics
CRISPR-Cas Systems/genetics
Genes, Fungal/genetics
Gene Deletion
Magnaporthe/genetics/pathogenicity
*Ascomycota

@article {pmid38690161,
year = {2024},
author = {Khattar, E and Salvati, E},
title = {Editorial: Novel insights connecting telomere biology to cancer development and progression.},
journal = {Frontiers in oncology},
volume = {14},
number = {},
pages = {1405618},
doi = {10.3389/fonc.2024.1405618},
pmid = {38690161},
issn = {2234-943X},
}

@article {pmid38689496,
year = {2024},
author = {Yun, L and Zhang, C and Liang, T and Tian, Y and Ma, G and Courdavault, V and Sun, S and Ma, B and Li, Z and Li, R and Cao, F and Shen, X and Wei, J and Li, Y and Guo, B and Sun, C},
title = {Insights into the dammarane-type triterpenoid spaonin biosynthesis from the telomere-to-telomere genome of Gynostemma pentaphyllum.},
journal = {Plant communications},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {100932},
doi = {10.1016/j.xplc.2024.100932},
pmid = {38689496},
issn = {2590-3462},
}

@article {pmid38689492,
year = {2024},
author = {Bao, J and Zhang, H and Wang, F and Li, L and Zhu, X and Xu, J and Wang, Y and Liu, Z and Zhai, G and Xu, H and Lin, F and Zhu, Y},
title = {Telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies of two Chinese Baijiu-brewing sorghum landraces.},
journal = {Plant communications},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {100933},
doi = {10.1016/j.xplc.2024.100933},
pmid = {38689492},
issn = {2590-3462},
}

@article {pmid38688277,
year = {2024},
author = {DeBoy, EA and Nicosia, AM and Liyanarachchi, S and Iyer, SS and Shah, MH and Ringel, MD and Brock, P and Armanios, M},
title = {Telomere-lengthening germline variants predispose to a syndromic papillary thyroid cancer subtype.},
journal = {American journal of human genetics},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.04.006},
pmid = {38688277},
issn = {1537-6605},
abstract = {Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common endocrine malignancy. 10% to 15% of individuals show familial clustering with three or more affected members, but the factors underlying this risk are unknown. In a group of recently studied individuals with POT1 pathogenic variants and ultra-long telomere length, PTC was the second most common solid tumor. We tested whether variants in POT1 and four other telomere-maintenance genes associated with familial cancer underlie PTC susceptibility. Among 470 individuals, we identified pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in three genes encoding telomere-binding proteins: POT1, TINF2, and ACD. They were found in 4.5% and 1.5% of familial and unselected cases, respectively. Individuals harboring these variants had ultra-long telomere length, and 15 of 18 (83%) developed other cancers, of which melanoma, lymphoma, and sarcoma were most common. Among individuals with PTC and melanoma, 22% carried a deleterious germline variant, suggesting that a long-telomere syndrome might be clinically recognizable. Successive generations had longer telomere length than their parents and, at times, developed more cancers at younger ages. Tumor sequencing identified a single oncogenic driver, BRAF p.Val600Glu, in 10 of 10 tumors studied, but no telomere-maintenance mechanism, including at the TERT promoter. These data identify a syndromic subset of PTCs with locus heterogeneity and telomere lengthening as a convergent mechanism. They suggest these germline variants lower the threshold to cancer by obviating the need for an acquired telomere-maintenance mechanism in addition to sustaining the longevity of oncogenic mutations.},
}

@article {pmid38685189,
year = {2024},
author = {Walker, CG and Thayer, ZM and Marks, EJ and Ly, KN and Pillai, A and Waldie, K and Underwood, L and Snell, RG and Knowles, SD and Cha, JE and Morton, SMB},
title = {Association between maternal depression symptoms and child telomere length.},
journal = {Journal of psychiatric research},
volume = {174},
number = {},
pages = {319-325},
doi = {10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.04.037},
pmid = {38685189},
issn = {1879-1379},
abstract = {The biological mechanisms that explain how adverse early life events influence adult disease risk are poorly understood. One proposed mechanism is via the induction of accelerated biological aging, for which telomere length is considered a biomarker. We aimed to determine if maternal depression pre- and post-partum was associated with telomere length in children at 4 years of age (n = 4299). Mothers completed structured questionnaires assessing depression during pregnancy (Edinburgh Depression Scale), at 9 months (Edinburgh Depression Scale), and at 54 months postpartum (Patient Health Questionnaire 9). Regression methods were used to investigate the relationship between telomere length (DNA from saliva) and maternal depression score recorded at each stage. Significant covariates included in the final model were: maternal age at pregnancy; child sex; child ethnicity; gestational age group, and rurality group. Child telomere length was found to be longer if their mother had a higher depression score at both postpartum time points tested (9 months of age; coefficient 0.003, SE = 0.001, P = 0.01, 54 months of age; coefficient 0.003, SE = 0.002, P = 0.02). Although these findings seem paradoxical, increased telomere length may be an adaptive response to early life stressors. We propose several testable hypotheses for these results and to determine if the positive association between depression and telomere length is a developmental adaptation or an indirect consequence of environmental factors.},
}

@article {pmid38680187,
year = {2024},
author = {Yudin, NS and Igoshin, AV and Romashov, GA and Martynov, AA and Larkin, DM},
title = {Influence of breed and environment on leukocyte telomere length in cattle.},
journal = {Vavilovskii zhurnal genetiki i selektsii},
volume = {28},
number = {2},
pages = {190-197},
doi = {10.18699/vjgb-24-23},
pmid = {38680187},
issn = {2500-0462},
abstract = {High milk yield is associated with reduced longevity in high-producing dairy cattle breeds. Pre-term culling leads to high replacement heifer demand and economic losses for the dairy industry. Selection for this trait is limited because of low heritability and difficulties in phenotype measurement. Telomeres are elements found at the ends of chromosomes, consisting of repetitive DNA sequences, several thousand base pairs in length, coupled with nucleoprotein complexes. Eventually, in humans and most other animals, telomere length reduces with age. When telomeric DNA is truncated to a critical length, cell ageing, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis are induced. As a result, telomere length can be considered as a predictor of health risks and an individual's lifespan. The leukocyte telomere length may be used as a proxy phenotype of productive lifespan to improve cattle selection. Our objectives were to assess the effects of breed and breed group (dairy vs. beef) on the leukocyte telomere length and to estimate the effect of cold climate on this trait in Kalmyk cattle populations from the South (Rostov Oblast) and Far North (Republic of Sakha) regions of Russia. The leukocyte telomere lengths were estimated computationally from whole-genome resequencing data. We leveraged data on leukocyte telomere length, sex, and age of 239 animals from 17 cattle breeds. The breed factor had a significant effect on leukocyte telomere length across our sample. There was no difference in leukocyte telomere length between dairy and beef groups. The population factor had a significant effect on leukocyte telomere length in Kalmyk animals. In conclusion, we found that breed, but not breed group (dairy vs. beef), was significantly associated with leukocyte telomere length in cattle. Residence in colder climates was associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in Kalmyk breed cattle.},
}

@article {pmid38679744,
year = {2024},
author = {Limardi, PC and Panigoro, SS and Siregar, NC and Sutandyo, N and Witjaksono, F and Priliani, L and Oktavianthi, S and Malik, SG},
title = {Higher peripheral blood mitochondrial DNA copy number and relative telomere length in under 48 years Indonesian breast cancer patients.},
journal = {BMC research notes},
volume = {17},
number = {1},
pages = {120},
pmid = {38679744},
issn = {1756-0500},
mesh = {Humans ; *Breast Neoplasms/genetics/blood ; Female ; *DNA, Mitochondrial/blood/genetics ; Indonesia ; Middle Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Adult ; *DNA Copy Number Variations/genetics ; *Telomere/genetics ; Telomere Homeostasis ; Biomarkers, Tumor/blood/genetics ; Aged ; },
abstract = {OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality among Indonesian women. A comprehensive investigation is required to enhance the early detection of this disease. Mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) and relative telomere length (RTL) have been proposed as potential biomarkers for several cancer risks, as they are linked through oxidative stress mechanisms. We conducted a case-control study to examine peripheral blood mtDNA-CN and RTL patterns in Indonesian breast cancer patients (n = 175) and healthy individuals (n = 181). The relative ratios of mtDNA-CN and RTL were determined using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR).

RESULTS: Median values of mtDNA-CN and RTL were 1.62 and 0.70 in healthy subjects and 1.79 and 0.73 in breast cancer patients, respectively. We found a positive association between peripheral blood mtDNA-CN and RTL (p < 0.001). In under 48 years old breast cancer patients, higher peripheral blood mtDNA-CN (mtDNA-CN ≥ 1.73 (median), p = 0.009) and RTL (continuous variable, p = 0.010) were observed, compared to the corresponding healthy subjects. We also found a significantly higher 'High-High' pattern of mtDNA-CN and RTL in breast cancer patients under 48 years old (p = 0.011). Our findings suggest that peripheral blood mtDNA-CN and RTL could serve as additional minimally invasive biomarkers for breast cancer risk evaluation.},
}

Humans
*Breast Neoplasms/genetics/blood
Female
*DNA, Mitochondrial/blood/genetics
Indonesia
Middle Aged
Case-Control Studies
Adult
*DNA Copy Number Variations/genetics
*Telomere/genetics
Telomere Homeostasis
Biomarkers, Tumor/blood/genetics
Aged

@article {pmid38676403,
year = {2024},
author = {Wong, JYY and Blechter, B and Liu, Z and Shi, J and Roger, VL},
title = {Genetic susceptibility to chronic diseases leads to heart failure among Europeans: the influence of leukocyte telomere length.},
journal = {Human molecular genetics},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddae063},
pmid = {38676403},
issn = {1460-2083},
support = {1ZIACP010120-28/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; 1ZIAHL006285-01/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Genetic susceptibility to various chronic diseases has been shown to influence heart failure (HF) risk. However, the underlying biological pathways, particularly the role of leukocyte telomere length (LTL), are largely unknown. We investigated the impact of genetic susceptibility to chronic diseases and various traits on HF risk, and whether LTL mediates or modifies the pathways.

METHODS: We conducted prospective cohort analyses on 404 883 European participants from the UK Biobank, including 9989 incident HF cases. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate associations between HF risk and 24 polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for various diseases or traits previously generated using a Bayesian approach. We assessed multiplicative interactions between the PRSs and LTL previously measured in the UK Biobank using quantitative PCR. Causal mediation analyses were conducted to estimate the proportion of the total effect of PRSs acting indirectly through LTL, an integrative marker of biological aging.

RESULTS: We identified 9 PRSs associated with HF risk, including those for various cardiovascular diseases or traits, rheumatoid arthritis (P = 1.3E-04), and asthma (P = 1.8E-08). Additionally, longer LTL was strongly associated with decreased HF risk (P-trend = 1.7E-08). Notably, LTL strengthened the asthma-HF relationship significantly (P-interaction = 2.8E-03). However, LTL mediated only 1.13% (P < 0.001) of the total effect of the asthma PRS on HF risk.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings shed light onto the shared genetic susceptibility between HF risk, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and other traits. Longer LTL strengthened the genetic effect of asthma in the pathway to HF. These results support consideration of LTL and PRSs in HF risk prediction.},
}

@article {pmid38669426,
year = {2024},
author = {Xia, J and Xu, L and Yu, Y and Wu, M and Wang, X and Wang, Y and Li, C and Sun, J and Lv, X and Zhao, J and Zhang, Y},
title = {Associations between weight-adjusted-waist index and telomere length: Results from NHANES: An observational study.},
journal = {Medicine},
volume = {103},
number = {17},
pages = {e37905},
doi = {10.1097/MD.0000000000037905},
pmid = {38669426},
issn = {1536-5964},
mesh = {Humans ; Male ; Female ; *Nutrition Surveys ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; *Telomere/genetics ; Obesity/genetics ; Waist Circumference ; Aged ; Body Weight ; Body Mass Index ; },
abstract = {Previous studies have demonstrated the connection between obesity and telomere length. A recently devised metric for determining obesity, the weight-adjusted-waist index (WWI), offers a distinct advantage in predicting fat and lean mass by depicting weight-independent abdominal adiposity. This article presents the results of the inaugural study on the relationship between WWI and telomere length in adult populations. The cross-sectional investigation analyzed data from 3479 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted from 1999 to 2000. To inspect linear and nonlinear correlations, we adopted weighted multiple logistic regression analysis and smooth curve fit, respectively. In addition, threshold effects and subgroup analyses were accomplished. In the fully adapted model, a significant adverse association of WWI with telomere length was detected [β = -0.02, 95% CI: (-0.03, -0.00), P value = 0.01]. The adverse correlation remained consistent across all subcategories. We also discovered an inverted U-shaped curve linking WWI and telomere length, with a conspicuous inflection point of 10.07 cm/√kg. For the first time, our research demonstrated strong links between WWI and telomere length. The inflection point suggests that controlling WWI within an optimum range might be essential for aging and health.},
}

Humans
Male
Female
*Nutrition Surveys
Cross-Sectional Studies
Middle Aged
Adult
*Telomere/genetics
Obesity/genetics
Waist Circumference
Aged
Body Weight
Body Mass Index

@article {pmid38663933,
year = {2024},
author = {Yan, X and Yang, P and Li, Y and Liu, T and Zha, Y and Wang, T and Zhang, J and Feng, Z and Li, M},
title = {New insights from bidirectional Mendelian randomization: causal relationships between telomere length and mitochondrial DNA copy number in aging biomarkers.},
journal = {Aging},
volume = {16},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.18632/aging.205765},
pmid = {38663933},
issn = {1945-4589},
abstract = {Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and telomere length (TL) are dynamic factors that have been linked to the aging process in organisms. However, the causal relationship between these variables remains uncertain. In this research, instrumental variables (IVs) related to mtDNA copy number and TL were obtained from publicly available genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Through bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, we examined the potential causal relationship between these factors. The forward analysis, with mtDNA copy number as the exposure and TL as the outcome, did not reveal a significant effect (B=-0.004, P>0.05). On the contrary, upon conducting a reverse analysis, it was found that there exists a positive causal relationship (B=0.054, P<0.05). Sensitivity analyses further confirmed the reliability of these results. The outcomes of this study indicate a one-way positive causal relationship, indicating that telomere shortening in the aging process may lead to a decrease in mtDNA copy number, providing new perspectives on their biological mechanisms.},
}

@article {pmid38663837,
year = {2024},
author = {Inoue, Y and Aoki, S and Ito, J and Hara, S and Shirasuna, K and Iwata, H},
title = {Telomere length determines the mitochondrial copy number in blastocyst-stage embryos.},
journal = {Mitochondrion},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {101887},
doi = {10.1016/j.mito.2024.101887},
pmid = {38663837},
issn = {1872-8278},
abstract = {Telomere length (TL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mt-cn) are associated with embryonic development. Here, we investigated the correlation between TL and mt-cn in bovine embryos to determine whether TL regulates mt-cn. TL and mt-cn were closely correlated in embryos derived from six bulls. Treatment of embryos with a telomerase inhibitor (TMPyP) and siTERT shortened the TL and reduced mt-cn in blastocysts. RNA-sequencing of blastocysts developed with TMPyP revealed differentially expressed genes associated with transforming growth factor-β1 signaling and inflammation. In conclusion, TL regulates mt-cn in embryos.},
}

@article {pmid38658004,
year = {2024},
author = {Tunnicliffe, L and Muzambi, R and Bartlett, JW and Howe, L and Abdul Basit, K and Warren-Gash, C},
title = {Infection and telomere length: a systematic review protocol.},
journal = {BMJ open},
volume = {14},
number = {4},
pages = {e081881},
doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2023-081881},
pmid = {38658004},
issn = {2044-6055},
mesh = {Humans ; *Systematic Reviews as Topic ; *Research Design ; Telomere Shortening ; Telomere/genetics ; Infections ; },
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Telomeres are a measure of cellular ageing with potential links to diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Studies have shown that some infections may be associated with telomere shortening, but whether an association exists across all types and severities of infections and in which populations is unclear. Therefore we aim to collate available evidence to enable comparison and to inform future research in this field.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search for studies involving telomere length and infection in various databases including MEDLINE (Ovid interface), EMBASE (Ovid interface), Web of Science, Scopus, Global Health and the Cochrane Library. For grey literature, the British Library of electronic theses databases (ETHOS) will be explored. We will not limit by study type, geographical location, infection type or method of outcome measurement. Two researchers will independently carry out study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment using the ROB2 and ROBINS-E tools. The overall quality of the studies will be determined using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria. We will also evaluate study heterogeneity with respect to study design, exposure and outcome measurement and if there is sufficient homogeneity, a meta-analysis will be conducted. Otherwise, we will provide a narrative synthesis with results grouped by exposure category and study design.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The present study does not require ethical approval. Results will be disseminated via publishing in a peer-reviewed journal and conference presentations.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023444854.},
}

Humans
*Systematic Reviews as Topic
*Research Design
Telomere Shortening
Telomere/genetics
Infections

@article {pmid38657142,
year = {2024},
author = {Nageshan, RK and Krogan, N and Cooper, JP},
title = {Parallel genetic screens identify nuclear envelope homeostasis as a key determinant of telomere entanglement resolution in fission yeast.},
journal = {G3 (Bethesda, Md.)},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/g3journal/jkae078},
pmid = {38657142},
issn = {2160-1836},
abstract = {In fission yeast lacking the telomere binding protein, Taz1, replication forks stall at telomeres, triggering deleterious downstream events. Strand invasion from one taz1Δ telomeric stalled fork to another on a separate (non-sister) chromosome leads to telomere entanglements, which are resolved in mitosis at 32°C; however, entanglement resolution fails at ≤20°C, leading to cold-specific lethality. Previously, we found that loss of the mitotic function of Rif1, a conserved DNA replication and repair factor, suppresses cold sensitivity by promoting resolution of entanglements without affecting entanglement formation. To understand the underlying pathways of mitotic entanglement resolution, we performed a series of genomewide synthetic genetic array screens to generate a comprehensive list of genetic interactors of taz1Δ and rif1Δ. We modified a previously described screening method to ensure that the queried cells were kept in log phase growth. In addition to recapitulating previously identified genetic interactions, we find that loss of genes encoding components of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) promotes telomere disentanglement and suppresses taz1Δ cold sensitivity. We attribute this to more rapid anaphase midregion nuclear envelope (NE) breakdown in the absence of these NPC components. Loss of genes involved in lipid metabolism reverses the ability of rif1+ deletion to suppress taz1Δ cold sensitivity, again pinpointing NE modulation. A rif1+ separation-of-function mutant that specifically loses Rif1's mitotic functions yields similar genetic interactions. Genes promoting membrane fluidity were enriched in a parallel taz1+ synthetic lethal screen at permissive temperature, cementing the idea that the cold specificity of taz1Δ lethality stems from altered NE homeostasis.},
}

@article {pmid38656297,
year = {2024},
author = {Hu, C and Zhu, XT and He, MH and Shao, Y and Qin, Z and Wu, ZJ and Zhou, JQ},
title = {Elimination of subtelomeric repeat sequences exerts little effect on telomere essential functions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.},
journal = {eLife},
volume = {12},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.7554/eLife.91223},
pmid = {38656297},
issn = {2050-084X},
support = {2023YFA0913400//National Key Research and Development Program of China/ ; 32150004//The National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; },
mesh = {*Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics ; *Telomere/metabolism/genetics ; *Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid/genetics ; *Telomerase/genetics/metabolism ; Telomere Homeostasis ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Sequence Deletion ; },
abstract = {Telomeres, which are chromosomal end structures, play a crucial role in maintaining genome stability and integrity in eukaryotes. In the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the X- and Y'-elements are subtelomeric repetitive sequences found in all 32 and 17 telomeres, respectively. While the Y'-elements serve as a backup for telomere functions in cells lacking telomerase, the function of the X-elements remains unclear. This study utilized the S. cerevisiae strain SY12, which has three chromosomes and six telomeres, to investigate the role of X-elements (as well as Y'-elements) in telomere maintenance. Deletion of Y'-elements (SY12[YΔ]), X-elements (SY12[XYΔ+Y]), or both X- and Y'-elements (SY12[XYΔ]) did not impact the length of the terminal TG1-3 tracks or telomere silencing. However, inactivation of telomerase in SY12[YΔ], SY12[XYΔ+Y], and SY12[XYΔ] cells resulted in cellular senescence and the generation of survivors. These survivors either maintained their telomeres through homologous recombination-dependent TG1-3 track elongation or underwent microhomology-mediated intra-chromosomal end-to-end joining. Our findings indicate the non-essential role of subtelomeric X- and Y'-elements in telomere regulation in both telomerase-proficient and telomerase-null cells and suggest that these elements may represent remnants of S. cerevisiae genome evolution. Furthermore, strains with fewer or no subtelomeric elements exhibit more concise telomere structures and offer potential models for future studies in telomere biology.},
}

*Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics
*Telomere/metabolism/genetics
*Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid/genetics
*Telomerase/genetics/metabolism
Telomere Homeostasis
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins/genetics/metabolism
Sequence Deletion

@article {pmid38649458,
year = {2024},
author = {Li, H and Durbin, R},
title = {Genome assembly in the telomere-to-telomere era.},
journal = {Nature reviews. Genetics},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {38649458},
issn = {1471-0064},
abstract = {Genome sequences largely determine the biology and encode the history of an organism, and de novo assembly - the process of reconstructing the genome sequence of an organism from sequencing reads - has been a central problem in bioinformatics for four decades. Until recently, genomes were typically assembled into fragments of a few megabases at best, but now technological advances in long-read sequencing enable the near-complete assembly of each chromosome - also known as telomere-to-telomere assembly - for many organisms. Here, we review recent progress on assembly algorithms and protocols, with a focus on how to derive near-telomere-to-telomere assemblies. We also discuss the additional developments that will be required to resolve remaining assembly gaps and to assemble non-diploid genomes.},
}

@article {pmid38643009,
year = {2024},
author = {Dilixiati, D and Kadier, K and Laihaiti, D and Lu, JD and Azhati, B and Rexiati, M},
title = {Association between leucocyte telomere length and erectile dysfunction in US adults: a secondary study based on 2001-2002 NHANES data.},
journal = {BMJ open},
volume = {14},
number = {4},
pages = {e077808},
doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2023-077808},
pmid = {38643009},
issn = {2044-6055},
abstract = {OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore the association between the leucocyte telomere length (LTL) and erectile dysfunction (ED) among a nationally representative sample of US adults.

DESIGN: Secondary population-based study.

SETTING: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2001-2002).

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1694 male participants were extracted from the NHANES database for 2001-2002.

The primary focus of the study was to determine the association between the LTL and ED, using multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline models for examination. The secondary outcome measures involved conducting stratified subgroup analyses to exclude interactions of different variables with the LTL.

RESULTS: Participants with ED had shorter LTLs than those without ED (p<0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, compared with the reference lowest LTL quartile, the ORs and 95% CIs for the second, third and fourth LTL quartiles were (OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.01 to 2.26), (OR 1.79; 95% CI 1.24 to 2.58) and (OR 1.25; 95% CI 0.74 to 2.11), respectively. In addition, restricted cubic splines showed an inverted J-curve relationship between the LTL and ED. At an LTL of 1.037, the curve showed an inflection point. The ORs (95% CI) of ED on the left and right sides of the inflection point were (OR 1.99; 95% CI 0.39 to 10.20; p=0.385) and (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.90; p=0.039).

CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated an inverted J-curve relationship between the LTL and ED. When the LTL was ≥1.037, the incidence of ED decreased with increasing LTL.},
}

@article {pmid38641551,
year = {2024},
author = {Fernández-Varas, B and Manguan-García, C and Rodriguez-Centeno, J and Mendoza-Lupiáñez, L and Calatayud, J and Perona, R and Martín-Martínez, M and Gutierrez-Rodriguez, M and Benítez-Buelga, C and Sastre, L},
title = {Clinical mutations in the TERT and TERC genes coding for telomerase components induced oxidative stress, DNA damage at telomeres and cell apoptosis besides decreased telomerase activity.},
journal = {Human molecular genetics},
volume = {33},
number = {9},
pages = {818-834},
doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddae015},
pmid = {38641551},
issn = {1460-2083},
support = {//Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III/ ; PI20-00335//European Regional Development/ ; PIE-202180E073//Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain/ ; POSTD20042BENI//Fundación Científica Asociación Española Contra el Cancer/ ; },
abstract = {Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures at the end of chromosomes that maintain their integrity. Mutations in genes coding for proteins involved in telomere protection and elongation produce diseases such as dyskeratosis congenita or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis known as telomeropathies. These diseases are characterized by premature telomere shortening, increased DNA damage and oxidative stress. Genetic diagnosis of telomeropathy patients has identified mutations in the genes TERT and TERC coding for telomerase components but the functional consequences of many of these mutations still have to be experimentally demonstrated. The activity of twelve TERT and five TERC mutants, five of them identified in Spanish patients, has been analyzed. TERT and TERC mutants were expressed in VA-13 human cells that express low telomerase levels and the activity induced was analyzed. The production of reactive oxygen species, DNA oxidation and TRF2 association at telomeres, DNA damage response and cell apoptosis were determined. Most mutations presented decreased telomerase activity, as compared to wild-type TERT and TERC. In addition, the expression of several TERT and TERC mutants induced oxidative stress, DNA oxidation, DNA damage, decreased recruitment of the shelterin component TRF2 to telomeres and increased apoptosis. These observations might indicate that the increase in DNA damage and oxidative stress observed in cells from telomeropathy patients is dependent on their TERT or TERC mutations. Therefore, analysis of the effect of TERT and TERC mutations of unknown function on DNA damage and oxidative stress could be of great utility to determine the possible pathogenicity of these variants.},
}

@article {pmid38634789,
year = {2024},
author = {Li, B and Xiong, W and Zuo, W and Shi, Y and Wang, T and Chang, L and Wu, Y and Ma, H and Bian, Q and Chang, ACY},
title = {Proximal telomeric decompaction due to telomere shortening drives FOXC1-dependent myocardial senescence.},
journal = {Nucleic acids research},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/nar/gkae274},
pmid = {38634789},
issn = {1362-4962},
support = {82070248//National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 0900000024//Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning/ ; },
abstract = {Telomeres, TTAGGGn DNA repeat sequences located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, play a pivotal role in aging and are targets of DNA damage response. Although we and others have demonstrated presence of short telomeres in genetic cardiomyopathic and heart failure cardiomyocytes, little is known about the role of telomere lengths in cardiomyocyte. Here, we demonstrate that in heart failure patient cardiomyocytes, telomeres are shortened compared to healthy controls. We generated isogenic human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) with short telomeres (sTL-CMs) and normal telomeres (nTL-CMs) as model. Compared to nTL-CMs, short telomeres result in cardiac dysfunction and expression of senescent markers. Using Hi-C and RNASeq, we observe that short telomeres induced TAD insulation decrease near telomeric ends and this correlated with a transcription upregulation in sTL-CMs. FOXC1, a key transcription factor involved in early cardiogenesis, was upregulated in sTL-CMs and its protein levels were negatively correlated with telomere lengths in heart failure patients. Overexpression of FOXC1 induced hiPSC-CM aging, mitochondrial and contractile dysfunction; knockdown of FOXC1 rescued these phenotypes. Overall, the work presented demonstrate that increased chromatin accessibility due to telomere shortening resulted in the induction of FOXC1-dependent expression network responsible for contractile dysfunction and myocardial senescence.},
}

@article {pmid38634106,
year = {2024},
author = {Garcia-Medina, JS and Sienkiewicz, K and Narayanan, SA and Overbey, EG and Grigorev, K and Ryon, KA and Burke, M and Proszynski, J and Tierney, B and Schmidt, CM and Mencia-Trinchant, N and Klotz, R and Ortiz, V and Foox, J and Chin, C and Najjar, D and Matei, I and Chan, I and Cruchaga, C and Kleinman, A and Kim, J and Lucaci, A and Loy, C and Mzava, O and De Vlaminck, I and Singaraju, A and Taylor, LE and Schmidt, JC and Schmidt, MA and Blease, K and Moreno, J and Boddicker, A and Zhao, J and Lajoie, B and Altomare, A and Kruglyak, S and Levy, S and Yu, M and Hassane, DC and Bailey, SM and Bolton, K and Mateus, J and Mason, CE},
title = {Genome and clonal hematopoiesis stability contrasts with immune, cfDNA, mitochondrial, and telomere length changes during short duration spaceflight.},
journal = {Precision clinical medicine},
volume = {7},
number = {1},
pages = {pbae007},
pmid = {38634106},
issn = {2516-1571},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: The Inspiration4 (I4) mission, the first all-civilian orbital flight mission, investigated the physiological effects of short-duration spaceflight through a multi-omic approach. Despite advances, there remains much to learn about human adaptation to spaceflight's unique challenges, including microgravity, immune system perturbations, and radiation exposure.

METHODS: To provide a detailed genetics analysis of the mission, we collected dried blood spots pre-, during, and post-flight for DNA extraction. Telomere length was measured by quantitative PCR, while whole genome and cfDNA sequencing provided insight into genomic stability and immune adaptations. A robust bioinformatic pipeline was used for data analysis, including variant calling to assess mutational burden.

RESULT: Telomere elongation occurred during spaceflight and shortened after return to Earth. Cell-free DNA analysis revealed increased immune cell signatures post-flight. No significant clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) or whole-genome instability was observed. The long-term gene expression changes across immune cells suggested cellular adaptations to the space environment persisting months post-flight.

CONCLUSION: Our findings provide valuable insights into the physiological consequences of short-duration spaceflight, with telomere dynamics and immune cell gene expression adapting to spaceflight and persisting after return to Earth. CHIP sequencing data will serve as a reference point for studying the early development of CHIP in astronauts, an understudied phenomenon as previous studies have focused on career astronauts. This study will serve as a reference point for future commercial and non-commercial spaceflight, low Earth orbit (LEO) missions, and deep-space exploration.},
}

@article {pmid38633384,
year = {2024},
author = {Yu, HJ and Byun, YH and Park, CK},
title = {Techniques for assessing telomere length: A methodological review.},
journal = {Computational and structural biotechnology journal},
volume = {23},
number = {},
pages = {1489-1498},
pmid = {38633384},
issn = {2001-0370},
abstract = {Telomeres are located at the ends of chromosomes and have specific sequences with a distinctive structure that safeguards genes. They possess capping structures that protect chromosome ends from fusion events and ensure chromosome stability. Telomeres shorten in length during each cycle of cell division. When this length reaches a certain threshold, it can lead to genomic instability, thus being implicated in various diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. The possibility of telomeres serving as a biomarker for aging and age-related disease is being explored, and their significance is still under study. This is because post-mitotic cells, which are mature cells that do not undergo mitosis, do not experience telomere shortening due to age. Instead, other causes, for example, exposure to oxidative stress, can directly damage the telomeres, causing genomic instability. Nonetheless, a general agreement has been established that measuring telomere length offers valuable insights and forms a crucial foundation for analyzing gene expression and epigenetic data. Numerous approaches have been developed to accurately measure telomere lengths. In this review, we summarize various methods and their advantages and limitations for assessing telomere length.},
}

@article {pmid38631323,
year = {2024},
author = {de Punder, K and Salinas-Manrique, J and Dietrich, DE and Karabatsiakis, A},
title = {Serum levels of the steroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) are associated with psychological trauma and lymphocyte telomere integrity in women suffering from depression.},
journal = {Neuroimmunomodulation},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1159/000538893},
pmid = {38631323},
issn = {1423-0216},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Emerging studies highlight the telomere system as an aging mechanism underlying the association between exposure to psychological trauma and the development of a wide range of physical and mental disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD). Here, we investigated associations of circulating levels of the steroid hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with immune cell telomere length (TL) in the context of lifetime trauma exposure and MDD.

METHODS: Lifetime traumatic events (trauma load) were assessed using the Essener Trauma Inventory (ETI) in n=22 postmenopausal female inpatients with MDD and n=22 non-depressed controls. All women completed the Beck's Depression Inventory-II to assess the severity of current depressive symptoms. DHEA concentration in serum was measured by immunoassay and TL was quantified in kilobase units using quantitative fluorescent in situ hybridization (qFISH) in total peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and in selected T cell subpopulations isolated by FACS separation.

RESULTS: Higher trauma load was significantly associated with lower DHEA concentration, which in turn was linked to more depression-related fatigue. Furthermore, DHEA concentration was positively and significantly associated with TL in memory CD4+ T cells as well as in naïve and memory CD8+ T cells, but not in naïve CD4+ T cells and total PBMC. Mediational analysis suggested that DHEA concentration is a mediator in the relationship between trauma load and memory CD8+ T cell TL.

CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest a potential role of DHEA as a biological resilience factor that may exert beneficial effects on telomere integrity, especially in conditions related to distress.},
}

@article {pmid38631073,
year = {2024},
author = {Zhong, M and Salberg, S and Sampangi, S and van der Walt, A and Butzkueven, H and Mychasiuk, R and Jokubaitis, V},
title = {Leukocyte telomere length in multiple sclerosis: relationship between disability severity and pregnancy history.},
journal = {Multiple sclerosis and related disorders},
volume = {86},
number = {},
pages = {105607},
doi = {10.1016/j.msard.2024.105607},
pmid = {38631073},
issn = {2211-0356},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Aging-related processes contribute to neurodegeneration and disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). Biomarkers of biological aging such as leukocyte telomere length (LTL) could help personalise prognosis. Pregnancy has been shown to be protective against disability accumulation in women with MS, though it is unclear if this effect relates to aging mechanisms or LTL.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to cross-sectionally characterise LTL in a cohort of individuals with MS, and to correlate LTL with disability severity and pregnancy history.

METHODS: We extracted DNA from the whole blood of 501 people with MS in Melbourne, Australia. Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score and demographic data, as well as pregnancy history for 197 females, were obtained at sample collection. Additional data were extracted from the MSBase Registry. LTL was determined in base pairs (bp) using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS: A relationship between EDSS score and shorter LTL was robust to multivariable adjustment for demographic and clinical factors including chronological age, with an adjusted LTL reduction per 1.0 increase in EDSS of 97.1 bp (95 % CI = 9.7-184.5 bp, p = 0.030). Adjusted mediation analysis found chronological age accounted for 33.6 % of the relationship between LTL and EDSS score (p = 0.018). In females with pregnancy data, history of pregnancy was associated with older age (median 49.7 vs 33.0 years, p < 0.001). There were no significant relationships between adjusted LTL and any history of pregnancy (LTL increase of 65.3 bp, 95 % CI = -471.0-601.5 bp, p = 0.81) or number of completed pregnancies (LTL increase of 14.6 bp per pregnancy, 95 % CI = -170.3-199.6 bp, p = 0.87).

CONCLUSIONS: The correlation between LTL and disability independent of chronological age and other factors points to a link between neurological reserve in MS and biological aging, and a potential research target for pathophysiological and therapeutic mechanisms. Although LTL did not significantly differ by pregnancy history, longitudinal analyses could help identify interactions with prospectively captured pregnancy effects.},
}

@article {pmid38629454,
year = {2024},
author = {Liang, X and Aouizerat, BE and So-Armah, K and Cohen, MH and Marconi, VC and Xu, K and Justice, AC},
title = {DNA methylation-based telomere length is associated with HIV infection, physical frailty, cancer, and all-cause mortality.},
journal = {Aging cell},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e14174},
doi = {10.1111/acel.14174},
pmid = {38629454},
issn = {1474-9726},
support = {R01-DA035616/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States ; R01-DA038632/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States ; R01-DA047063/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States ; R01-DA047820/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States ; R03-DA039745/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States ; U01-AA020790/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U01-AA020795/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U01-AA020799/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U10-AA013566/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U24-AA020794/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; },
abstract = {Telomere length (TL) is an important indicator of cellular aging. Shorter TL is associated with several age-related diseases including coronary heart disease, heart failure, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer. Recently, a DNA methylation-based TL (DNAmTL) estimator has been developed as an alternative method for directly measuring TL. In this study, we examined the association of DNAmTL with cancer prevalence and mortality risk among people with and without HIV in the Veterans Aging Cohort Study Biomarker Cohort (VACS, N = 1917) and Women's Interagency HIV Study Cohort (WIHS, N = 481). We profiled DNAm in whole blood (VACS) or in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (WIHS) using an array-based method. Cancer prevalence was estimated from electronic medical records and cancer registry data. The VACS Index was used as a measure of physiologic frailty. Models were adjusted for self-reported race and ethnicity, batch, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and five cell types (CD4, CD8, NK, B cell, and monocyte). We found that people with HIV had shorter average DNAmTL than those without HIV infection [beta = -0.25, 95% confidence interval (-0.32, -0.18), p = 1.48E-12]. Greater value of VACS Index [beta = -0.002 (-0.003, -0.001), p = 2.82E-05] and higher cancer prevalence [beta = -0.07 (-0.10, -0.03), p = 1.37E-04 without adjusting age] were associated with shortened DNAmTL. In addition, one kilobase decrease in DNAmTL was associated with a 40% increase in mortality risk [hazard ratio: 0.60 (0.44, 0.82), p = 1.42E-03]. In summary, HIV infection, physiologic frailty, and cancer are associated with shortening DNAmTL, contributing to an increased risk of all-cause mortality.},
}

@article {pmid38621495,
year = {2024},
author = {Moura, HF and Schuch, JB and Ornell, F and Bandeira, CE and Massuda, R and Dotto Bau, CH and Grevet, EH and Kessler, FHP and von Diemen, L},
title = {Association between telomere length with alcohol use disorder and internalizing/externalizing comorbidities in a Brazilian male sample.},
journal = {Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.alcohol.2024.04.004},
pmid = {38621495},
issn = {1873-6823},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Shortening telomere length (TL) is an important ageing marker associated with substance use disorder (SUD). However, the influence of psychiatric and clinical comorbidities and alcohol-related outcomes has not been much explored in the context of TL in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and may be a source of heterogeneity in AUD studies. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the influence of AUD, alcohol-related outcomes, and common psychiatric comorbidities on TL in men with AUD and healthy controls (HC).

METHODS: Men with AUD (n=108, mean age=52.4, SD=8.6) were recruited in a detoxification unit, and HC (n=80, mean age=50.04, SD=9.1) from the blood bank, both located in Brazil. HC had no current or lifetime diagnosis of any substance use disorder. Psychiatric comorbidities were assessed using SCID-I. TL ratio was measured in triplicates using quantitative multiplex PCR.

RESULTS: Telomere length did not differ between individuals with AUD and HC (p=0.073) or was associated with AUD-related outcomes, trauma, or clinical comorbidities. Individuals with externalizing disorders had longer TL when comparing with those with internalizing disorders (p=0.018) or without comorbidity (p=0.018).

CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that TL was influenced by the presence of psychiatric comorbidity rather than case or control status. These results were adjusted for potential confounders, such as age.},
}

@article {pmid38617276,
year = {2024},
author = {Greshnova, A and Pál, K and Martinez, JFI and Canzar, S and Makova, KD},
title = {Transcript Isoform Diversity of Y Chromosome Ampliconic Genes of Great Apes Uncovered Using Long Reads and Telomere-to-Telomere Reference Genome Assemblies.},
journal = {bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1101/2024.04.02.587783},
pmid = {38617276},
abstract = {Y chromosomes of great apes harbor A mpliconic G enes (YAGs)-multi-copy gene families (BPY2 , CDY , DAZ , HSFY , PRY , RBMY , TSPY , VCY , and XKRY) that encode proteins important for spermatogenesis. Previous work assembled YAG transcripts based on their targeted sequencing but not using reference genome assemblies, potentially resulting in an incomplete transcript repertoire. Here we used the recently produced gapless telomere-to-telomere (T2T) Y chromosome assemblies of great ape species (bonobo, chimpanzee, human, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, and Sumatran orangutan) and analyzed RNA data from whole-testis samples for the same species. We generated hybrid transcriptome assemblies by combining targeted long reads (Pacific Biosciences), untargeted long reads (Pacific Biosciences) and untargeted short reads (Illumina)and mapping them to the T2T reference genomes. Compared to the results from the reference-free approach, average transcript length was more than two times higher, and the total number of transcripts decreased three times, improving the quality of the assembled transcriptome. The reference-based transcriptome assemblies allowed us to differentiate transcripts originating from different Y chromosome gene copies and from their non-Y chromosome homologs. We identified two sources of transcriptome diversity-alternative splicing and gene duplication with subsequent diversification of gene copies. For each gene family, we detected transcribed pseudogenes along with protein-coding gene copies. We revealed previously unannotated gene copies of YAGs as compared to currently available NCBI annotations, as well as novel isoforms for annotated gene copies. This analysis paves the way for better understanding Y chromosome gene functions, which is important given their role in spermatogenesis.},
}

@article {pmid38615017,
year = {2024},
author = {Li, J and Yang, C and Zhang, Y and Li, Q and Liu, X and Zhang, Y and Zhao, Y},
title = {Study of association of leptin with leukocyte telomere length in a Chinese rural population.},
journal = {Lipids in health and disease},
volume = {23},
number = {1},
pages = {103},
pmid = {38615017},
issn = {1476-511X},
support = {U22A20360//National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 82060592//National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 2021BEG02026//key R&D projects in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region/ ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between adipocyte factors, insulin resistance, and other indicators with telomere length. However, these studies did not consider the influence of changes in different indicators on telomere length over time. Therefore, the aim of this study is to elucidate the impact of changes in adipocyte factors, HOMA-IR, and other indicators on the dynamic variation of telomere length.

METHODS: The data were from a cohort study conducted in Ningxia, China. A total of 1624 subjects were analyzed. Adipokines and relative leukocyte telomere length (RLTL) were measured, and changes in Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), Homeostatic Model Assessment for β-Cell Function (HOMA-β), and Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI) were calculated. Generalized linear models evaluated associations between changes in adipokines and RLTL changes. Furthermore, univariate analyses examined the effects of changes in adipokines and insulin resistance indicators on ΔRLTL.

RESULTS: The research findings indicate that females generally have shorter telomeres compared to males. In comparison to the low-level group of Δleptin (LEP), the high-level group of ΔLEP shows a negative correlation with ΔRLTL (B=-1.32, 95% CI (-2.38, -0.27)). Even after multivariable adjustments, this relationship persists (B=-1.31, 95% CI (-2.24, -0.23)). Further analysis reveals that after adjusting for ΔHOMA-IR, ΔHOMA-β, and ΔQUICKI, the high-level group of ΔLEP still exhibits a significant negative correlation with ΔRLTL (B=-1.37, 95% CI (-2.43, -0.31)). However, the interaction effects between ΔHOMA-IR, ΔHOMA-β, ΔQUICKI, and ΔLEP do not affect ΔRLTL.

CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of leptin were significantly correlated with shortened telomere length. This suggests that increased leptin levels may impact overall individual health by affecting telomere length, underscoring the importance of measures to reduce leptin levels to mitigate the onset and progression of related diseases.},
}

@article {pmid38615081,
year = {2024},
author = {Li, Z and Yang, J and Ji, X and Liu, J and Yin, C and Bhadauria, V and Zhao, W and Peng, YL},
title = {First telomere-to-telomere gapless assembly of the rice blast fungus Pyricularia oryzae.},
journal = {Scientific data},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {380},
pmid = {38615081},
issn = {2052-4463},
abstract = {Rice blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae (syn., Magnaporthe oryzae) was one of the most destructive diseases of rice throughout the world. Genome assembly was fundamental to genetic variation identification and critically impacted the understanding of its ability to overcome host resistance. Here, we report a gapless genome assembly of rice blast fungus P. oryzae strain P131 using PacBio, Illumina and high throughput chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) sequencing data. This assembly contained seven complete chromosomes (43,237,743 bp) and a circular mitochondrial genome (34,866 bp). Approximately 14.31% of this assembly carried repeat sequences, significantly greater than its previous assembled version. This assembly had a 99.9% complement in BUSCO evaluation. A total of 14,982 genes protein-coding genes were predicted. In summary, we assembled the first telomere-to-telomere gapless genome of P. oryzae, which would be a valuable genome resource for future research on the genome evolution and host adaptation.},
}

@article {pmid38611064,
year = {2024},
author = {Wakita, H and Lu, Y and Li, X and Kobayashi, T and Hachiya, T and Ide, H and Horie, S},
title = {Evaluating Leukocyte Telomere Length and Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells as Biomarkers for Prostate Cancer.},
journal = {Cancers},
volume = {16},
number = {7},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/cancers16071386},
pmid = {38611064},
issn = {2072-6694},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are associated with aging and the development and progression of cancer. However, the exact nature of this relationship remains unclear. Our study aimed to investigate the potential of LTL and MDSC as diagnostic biomarkers for prostate cancer while also seeking to deepen our understanding of the relationship of these potential biomarkers to each other.

METHODS: Our study involved patients undergoing a prostate biopsy. We analyzed the relative LTL in genomic DNA obtained from peripheral blood leukocytes as well as the percentage of MDSC and their subtypes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Our evaluation focused on examining the relationship between LTL and MDSC and pathological diagnoses as well as investigating the correlation between LTL and MDSC levels.

RESULTS: In our study of 102 participants, 56 were pathologically diagnosed with localized prostate cancer (cancer group), while 46 tested negative (control group). The cancer group exhibited significantly shorter LTL in comparison to the control group (p = 0.024). Additionally, the cancer group showed a tendency towards a higher percentage of monocytic MDSC (M-MDSC), although this difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.056). Our multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with shorter LTL and higher percentages of M-MDSC had a 2.98-fold (95% CI = 1.001-8.869, p = 0.049) and 3.03-fold (95% CI = 1.152-7.977, p = 0.025) increased risk of prostate cancer diagnosis, respectively. There was also a significant negative correlation between LTL and M-MDSC. (r = -0.347, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Our research has established a correlation between LTL and MDSC in patients undergoing biopsy for prostate cancer. Notably, we observed that individuals with localized prostate cancer tend to have shorter LTL and a higher percentage of M-MDSC prior to their diagnosis. These findings suggest that LTL and M-MDSC could potentially serve as adjunctive biomarkers for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer.},
}

@article {pmid38610915,
year = {2024},
author = {Moustakli, E and Zikopoulos, A and Skentou, C and Dafopoulos, S and Stavros, S and Dafopoulos, K and Drakakis, P and Georgiou, I and Zachariou, A},
title = {Association of Obesity with Telomere Length in Human Sperm.},
journal = {Journal of clinical medicine},
volume = {13},
number = {7},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/jcm13072150},
pmid = {38610915},
issn = {2077-0383},
abstract = {Background: Telomere attrition and mitochondrial dysfunction are two fundamental aspects of aging. Calorie restriction (CR) is the best strategy to postpone aging since it can enhance telomere attrition, boost antioxidant capacity, and lower the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Since ROS is produced by mitochondria and can readily travel to cell nuclei, it is thought to be a crucial molecule for information transfer between mitochondria and cell nuclei. Important variables that affect the quality and functionality of sperm and may affect male reproductive health and fertility include telomere length, mitochondrial content, and the ratio of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to nuclear DNA (nDNA). Telomere damage results from mitochondrial failure, whereas nuclear DNA remains unaffected. This research aims to investigate potential associations between these three variables and how they might relate to body mass index. Methods: Data were collected from 82 men who underwent IVF/ICSI at the University Hospital of Ioannina's IVF Unit in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. Evaluations included sperm morphology, sperm count, sperm motility, and participant history. To address this, male participants who were categorized into three body mass index (ΒΜΙ) groups-normal, overweight, and obese-had their sperm samples tested. Results: For both the normal and overweight groups, our results show a negative connection between relative telomere length and ΒΜI. As an illustration of a potential connection between mitochondrial health and telomere maintenance, a positive correlation was found for the obese group. Only the obese group's results were statistically significant (p < 0.05). More evidence that longer telomeres are associated with lower mitochondrial content can be found in the negative connection between telomere length and mitochondrial content in both the normal and overweight groups. However, the obese group showed a positive association. The data did not reach statistical significance for any of the three groups. These associations may affect sperm quality since telomere length and mitochondrial concentration are indicators of cellular integrity and health. Moreover, the ratio of mtDNA to nDNA was positively correlated with the relative telomere lengths of the obese group, but negatively correlated with the normal and overweight groups. In every group that was studied, the results were not statistically significant. According to this, male fertility may be negatively impacted by an imbalance in the copy number of the mitochondrial genome compared to the nuclear DNA in sperm. Conclusions: Essentially, the goal of our work is to determine whether mitochondria and telomere length in human sperm interact. Understanding these connections may aid in the explanation of some male infertility causes and possibly contribute to the creation of new treatment modalities for problems pertaining to reproductive health. The functional implications of these connections and their applications in therapeutic settings require further investigation.},
}

@article {pmid38607251,
year = {2024},
author = {Wang, B and Xiong, Y and Li, R and Zhang, J and Zhang, S},
title = {Shorter telomere length increases the risk of lymphocyte immunodeficiency: A Mendelian randomization study.},
journal = {Immunity, inflammation and disease},
volume = {12},
number = {4},
pages = {e1251},
doi = {10.1002/iid3.1251},
pmid = {38607251},
issn = {2050-4527},
support = {2020SF-072//Key project of Research and development program of Shaanxi Province/ ; YXJLRH2022062//Innovation project for medical Integration in Xi'an Jiaotong University/ ; 2020YJ(ZYTS)018//Free exploration project of the second affiliated hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University/ ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: For a long time, the prevailing viewpoint suggests that shorter telomere contribute to chromosomal instability, which is a shared characteristic of both aging and cancer. The newest research presented that T cell immune deficiency rather than chromosome instability predisposes patients with short telomere syndromes to some cancers. However, the relationship between genetically determined telomere length (TL) and immune cells remains unclear.

METHODS: The two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis was conducted to elucidate the potential causal relationship. The genetic data of TL and immune cells were obtained from the Genome-Wide Association Study. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used to estimate the effects primarily and another four methods were as a supplement. Sensitivity analysis was used to test the results.

RESULTS: The IVW method showed a significant correlation between TL and the percentage of T cells in lymphocytes (odds ratio [OR]: 1.222, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.014-1.472, p = .035), indicating that shorter TL significantly increases the risk of low T cell percentage. Further analysis of T cell subsets indicated that shorter TL may primarily lead to a lower percentage of Natural Killer T cells (OR: 1.574, 95% CI: 1.281-1.935, p < .001). Analysis of B cell subsets revealed that shorter TL may be associated with a higher percentage of Naive-mature B cells, and a lower percentage of Memory B cells. And the sensitivity analysis indicated the validity and robustness of our findings.

CONCLUSION: In summary, our findings suggest that shorter TL may be associated with a decline in the percentage of T cell, as well as impediments in the differentiation of B cell, consequently leading to the onset of immunosenescence and immunodeficiency. The relevant mechanisms and potential therapeutic avenues still need further investigation.},
}

@article {pmid38606545,
year = {2024},
author = {Nitschke, NJ and Jelsig, AM and Lautrup, C and Lundsgaard, M and Severinsen, MT and Cowland, JB and Maroun, LL and Andersen, MK and Grønbæk, K},
title = {Expanding the understanding of telomere biology disorder with reports from two families harboring variants in ZCCHC8 and TERC.},
journal = {Clinical genetics},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1111/cge.14534},
pmid = {38606545},
issn = {1399-0004},
support = {//Rigshospitalet/ ; R302-A17259//Kræftens Bekæmpelse/ ; R223-A13071//Kræftens Bekæmpelse/ ; },
abstract = {Telomere biology disorder (TBD) can present within a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from severe congenital malformations to isolated organ dysfunction in adulthood. Diagnosing TBD can be challenging given the substantial variation in symptoms and age of onset across generations. In this report, we present two families, one with a pathogenic variant in ZCCHC8 and another with a novel variant in TERC. In the literature, only one family has previously been reported with a ZCCHC8 variant and TBD symptoms. This family had multiple occurrences of pulmonary fibrosis and one case of bone marrow failure. In this paper, we present a second family with the same ZCCHC8 variant (p.Pro186Leu) and symptoms of TBD including pulmonary fibrosis, hematological disease, and elevated liver enzymes. The suspicion of TBD was confirmed with the measurement of short telomeres in the proband. In another family, we report a novel likely pathogenic variant in TERC. Our comprehensive description encompasses hematological manifestations, as well as pulmonary and hepatic fibrosis. Notably, there are no other reports which associate this variant to disease. The families expand our understanding of the clinical implications and genetic causes of TBD.},
}

@article {pmid38605518,
year = {2024},
author = {Jia, KH and Zhang, X and Li, LL and Shi, TL and Liu, D and Yang, Y and Cong, Y and Li, R and Pu, Y and Gong, Y and Chen, X and Si, YJ and Tian, R and Qian, Z and Ding, H and Li, N},
title = {Telomere-to-telomere cultivated and wild soybean genome assembly provides insights into evolution and domestication under structural variation.},
journal = {Plant communications},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {100919},
doi = {10.1016/j.xplc.2024.100919},
pmid = {38605518},
issn = {2590-3462},
}

@article {pmid38603928,
year = {2024},
author = {Chang, CH and Hwang, PA},
title = {Low-molecular-weight fucoidan increases telomere length and immunostimulatory effects on NK-92 cells following inhaled anesthetic injury.},
journal = {Mutation research},
volume = {828},
number = {},
pages = {111857},
doi = {10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2024.111857},
pmid = {38603928},
issn = {1873-135X},
abstract = {Inhaled anesthetics, such as isoflurane, may cause side effects, including short-term immunosuppression and DNA damage. In contrast, low molecular weight fucoidan (LMF), derived from brown seaweed, exhibits promising immunomodulatory effects. In this study, we determined the effect of isoflurane on telomeres and examined the potential of LMF to ameliorate the harmful effects of isoflurane. Male Lewis rats, the mouse lymphoma cell line YAC-1, and the human nature killer cell line NK-92 MI were exposed to isoflurane. The relative telomere length (T/S) ratio and mRNA expression were determined by quantitative PCR. The viability assay was used to assess cell viability. In vivo, 2% isoflurane exposure, which is a clinically relevant concentration, reduced telomere length, and correlated with exposure frequency and duration. Isoflurane concentrations above 2% shortened YAC-1 telomeres, with minimal impact on cell viability. LMF pre-treatment enhanced NK-92 MI cell survival resulting from isoflurane exposure and exerted superior telomere protection compared with LMF post-treatment. Furthermore, adding LMF during isoflurane exposure resulted in a significant increase in IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 mRNA compared with the untreated group. LMF protected against isoflurane-induced telomere shortening, enhanced NK cell viability, and modulated cytokine expression, thus mitigating postoperative immune suppression and risk of tumor metastasis.},
}

@article {pmid38603523,
year = {2024},
author = {Karimian, K and Groot, A and Huso, V and Kahidi, R and Tan, KT and Sholes, S and Keener, R and McDyer, JF and Alder, JK and Li, H and Rechtsteiner, A and Greider, CW},
title = {Human telomere length is chromosome end-specific and conserved across individuals.},
journal = {Science (New York, N.Y.)},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {eado0431},
doi = {10.1126/science.ado0431},
pmid = {38603523},
issn = {1095-9203},
abstract = {Short telomeres cause age-related disease and long telomeres predispose to cancer; however, the mechanisms regulating telomere length are unclear. We developed a nanopore-based method, Telomere Profiling, to determine telomere length at nearly single nucleotide resolution. Mapping telomere reads to chromosome ends showed chromosome end-specific length distributions that could differ by more than six kilobases. Telomere lengths in 147 individuals showed certain chromosome ends were consistently longer or shorter. The same rank order was found in newborn cord blood, suggesting that telomere length is determined at birth and chromosome end-specific telomere length differences are maintained as telomeres shorten with age. Telomere Profiling makes precision investigation of telomere length widely accessible for laboratory, clinical, and drug discovery efforts and will allow deeper insights into telomere biology.},
}

@article {pmid38600880,
year = {2024},
author = {Gao, Y and Xu, DD and Hu, Z},
title = {Telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of Oldenlandia diffusa.},
journal = {DNA research : an international journal for rapid publication of reports on genes and genomes},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/dnares/dsae012},
pmid = {38600880},
issn = {1756-1663},
abstract = {We report the complete telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of Oldenlandia diffusa which renowned in traditional Chinese medicine, comprising 16 chromosomes and spanning 499.7 Mb. The assembly showcases 28 telomeres and minimal gaps, with a total of only five. Repeat sequences constitute 46.41% of the genome, and 49,701 potential protein-coding genes have been predicted. Compared with O. corymbosa, O. diffusa exhibits chromosome duplication and fusion events, diverging 20.34 million years ago. Additionally, a total of 11 clusters of terpene synthase have been identified. The comprehensive genome sequence, gene catalog, and terpene synthase clusters of O. diffusa detailed in this study will significantly contribute to advancing research in this species' genetic, genomic, and pharmacological aspects.},
}

@article {pmid38600443,
year = {2024},
author = {Wang, B and Jia, Y and Dang, N and Yu, J and Bush, SJ and Gao, S and He, W and Wang, S and Guo, H and Yang, X and Ma, W and Ye, K},
title = {Near telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies of two Chlorella species unveil the composition and evolution of centromeres in green algae.},
journal = {BMC genomics},
volume = {25},
number = {1},
pages = {356},
pmid = {38600443},
issn = {1471-2164},
support = {32200510//National Natural Science Foundation of China/ ; 2022YFC3400300//National Key Research and Development Program of China/ ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Centromeres play a crucial and conserved role in cell division, although their composition and evolutionary history in green algae, the evolutionary ancestors of land plants, remains largely unknown.

RESULTS: We constructed near telomere-to-telomere (T2T) assemblies for two Trebouxiophyceae species, Chlorella sorokiniana NS4-2 and Chlorella pyrenoidosa DBH, with chromosome numbers of 12 and 13, and genome sizes of 58.11 Mb and 53.41 Mb, respectively. We identified and validated their centromere sequences using CENH3 ChIP-seq and found that, similar to humans and higher plants, the centromeric CENH3 signals of green algae display a pattern of hypomethylation. Interestingly, the centromeres of both species largely comprised transposable elements, although they differed significantly in their composition. Species within the Chlorella genus display a more diverse centromere composition, with major constituents including members of the LTR/Copia, LINE/L1, and LINE/RTEX families. This is in contrast to green algae including Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Coccomyxa subellipsoidea, and Chromochloris zofingiensis, in which centromere composition instead has a pronounced single-element composition. Moreover, we observed significant differences in the composition and structure of centromeres among chromosomes with strong collinearity within the Chlorella genus, suggesting that centromeric sequence evolves more rapidly than sequence in non-centromeric regions.

CONCLUSIONS: This study not only provides high-quality genome data for comparative genomics of green algae but gives insight into the composition and evolutionary history of centromeres in early plants, laying an important foundation for further research on their evolution.},
}

@article {pmid38594465,
year = {2024},
author = {Shou, S and Li, Y and Chen, J and Zhang, X and Zhang, C and Jiang, X and Liu, F and Yi, L and Zhang, X and Geer, E and Pu, Z and Pang, B},
title = {Understanding, diagnosing, and treating pancreatic cancer from the perspective of telomeres and telomerase.},
journal = {Cancer gene therapy},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {38594465},
issn = {1476-5500},
abstract = {Telomerase is associated with cellular aging, and its presence limits cellular lifespan. Telomerase by preventing telomere shortening can extend the number of cell divisions for cancer cells. In adult pancreatic cells, telomeres gradually shorten, while in precancerous lesions of cancer, telomeres in cells are usually significantly shortened. At this time, telomerase is still in an inactive state, and it is not until before and after the onset of cancer that telomerase is reactivated, causing cancer cells to proliferate. Methylation of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter and regulation of telomerase by lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB) is the mechanism of telomerase reactivation in pancreatic cancer. Understanding the role of telomeres and telomerase in pancreatic cancer will help to diagnose and initiate targeted therapy as early as possible. This article reviews the role of telomeres and telomerase as biomarkers in the development of pancreatic cancer and the progress of research on telomeres and telomerase as targets for therapeutic intervention.},
}

@article {pmid38593805,
year = {2024},
author = {Jiang, H and Zhang, T and Kaur, H and Shi, T and Krishnan, A and Kwon, Y and Sung, P and Greenberg, RA},
title = {BLM helicase unwinds lagging strand substrates to assemble the ALT telomere damage response.},
journal = {Molecular cell},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.molcel.2024.03.011},
pmid = {38593805},
issn = {1097-4164},
abstract = {The Bloom syndrome (BLM) helicase is critical for alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT), a homology-directed repair (HDR)-mediated telomere maintenance mechanism that is prevalent in cancers of mesenchymal origin. The DNA substrates that BLM engages to direct telomere recombination during ALT remain unknown. Here, we determine that BLM helicase acts on lagging strand telomere intermediates that occur specifically in ALT-positive cells to assemble a replication-associated DNA damage response. Loss of ATRX was permissive for BLM localization to ALT telomeres in S and G2, commensurate with the appearance of telomere C-strand-specific single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). DNA2 nuclease deficiency increased 5'-flap formation in a BLM-dependent manner, while telomere C-strand, but not G-strand, nicks promoted ALT. These findings define the seminal events in the ALT DNA damage response, linking aberrant telomeric lagging strand DNA replication with a BLM-directed HDR mechanism that sustains telomere length in a subset of human cancers.},
}

@article {pmid38593475,
year = {2024},
author = {Teixeira, GA and Travenzoli, NM and Tavares, MG},
title = {Chromosomal organization of different repetitive sequences in four wasp species of the genus Trypoxylon Latreille (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) and insights into the composition of wasp telomeres.},
journal = {Genome},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1139/gen-2023-0132},
pmid = {38593475},
issn = {1480-3321},
abstract = {This study characterizes the chromosomal organization of DNA repetitive sequences and the karyotypic evolution in four representatives of the solitary wasp genus Trypoxylon using conventional and molecular cytogenetic techniques. Our findings present the first cytogenetic data for T. rogenhoferi (2n=30) and T. albonigrum (2n=32) while the karyotypes of T. nitidum (2n=30) and T. lactitarse (2n=30) were similar to those described previously. Fluorochrome staining and microsatellite distribution data revealed differences in the constitutive heterochromatin composition among species. Trypoxylon nitidum and T. albonigrum exhibited a single rRNA gene site, potentially representing an ancestral pattern for aculeate Hymenoptera, while T. rogenhoferi and T. lactitarse showed two pericentromeric rRNA gene sites, suggesting amplification events in their ancestral clade. The (TCAGG)n motif hybridized in the terminal regions of the chromosomes in all four Trypoxylon species, which may suggest that this sequence is part of their telomeres. Notably, the presence of this repetitive sequence in the centromeric regions of certain chromosome pairs in two species supports the hypothesis of chromosomal fusions or inversions in the ancestral karyotype of Trypoxylon. The study expands the chromosomal mapping data of repetitive sequences in wasps and offers insights into the dynamic evolutionary landscape of karyotypes in these insects.},
}

@article {pmid38593055,
year = {2024},
author = {Karadağ, A and Dirican, E and Özmerdiven, ÇG and Özen, A and Ayan, S and Kabadere, S},
title = {Evaluation of miR-130b-3p and miR-375 levels and telomere length with telomerase activity in prostate cancer.},
journal = {Nucleosides, nucleotides & nucleic acids},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {1-12},
doi = {10.1080/15257770.2024.2334896},
pmid = {38593055},
issn = {1532-2335},
abstract = {Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequent cancer in males, as well as the second highest cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Differences in expression levels of miRNAs were linked with prostat cancer pathogenesis. qPCR was used to evaluate the expression of miR-130b-3p and miR-375 in Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH (n = 20) and PC (n = 22, pre- and post-operative) patients plasma. Relative telomere lengths (RLTs) in genomic DNA isolated from plasma were measured with qPCR, and telomerase activity analyzed by the ELISA method. PSA levels of PC patients were greater than of BPH patients (p = 0.0473). miR-130b-3p and miR-375 levels were significantly lower in pre-operative specimens of PC patients according to BPH (p = 0,0362, p = 0.0168, respectively). Similarly, post-operative miR-375 levels were lower in PC patients than in BPH patients (p = 0.1866). BPH patients had shorter RTLs than PC patients in both pre- (p=0.0438) and post-operative (p=0.0297) specimens. Telomerase activity was higher in PC patients than BPH(p = 0.0129). Interestingly, telomerase activity was further increased after surgery (p = 0.0003). We aim to identify the levels of miR-130b-3p and miR-375 expression and their relationship with telomerase activity in PC patients. Our data suggest that miRNAs and telomere length (TL) with telomerase activity may play a role in regulating prostate tumorgenesis and may be used as biomarkers for PC diagnosis.},
}

@article {pmid38588482,
year = {2024},
author = {de la Rosa, R and Le, A and Holm, S and Ye, M and Bush, NR and Hessler, D and Koita, K and Bucci, M and Long, D and Thakur, N},
title = {Associations Between Early-Life Adversity, Ambient Air Pollution, and Telomere Length in Children.},
journal = {Psychosomatic medicine},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1097/PSY.0000000000001276},
pmid = {38588482},
issn = {1534-7796},
abstract = {OBJECTIVE: Examine the independent associations and interaction between early-life adversity and residential ambient air pollution exposure on relative buccal telomere length (rBTL).

METHODS: Experiences of abuse, neglect, household challenges, and related life events were identified in a cross-sectional sample of children ages 1-11 years (n = 197) using the 17-item Pediatric ACEs and Related Life Event Screener (PEARLS) tool. The PEARLS tool was analyzed both as a total score and across established domains (Maltreatment, Household Challenges, and Social Context). Ground-level fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations were matched to residential locations for the one and twelve months prior to biospecimen collection. We used multivariable linear regression models to examine for independent associations between continuous PM2.5 exposure and PEARLS score/domains with rBTL. Additionally, effect modification by PEARLS scores and domains on associations between PM2.5 exposure and rBTL was examined.

RESULTS: Study participants were 47% girls, with mean age = 5.9 years [standard deviation: 3.4] median reported PEARLS score of 2 [interquartile range (IQR): 4], median 12-month prior PM2.5 concentrations of 11.8 μg/m3 [IQR: 2.7], median 1-month prior PM2.5 concentrations of 10.9 μg/m3 [IQR: 5.8], and rBTL of 0.1 [IQR: 0.03]. Mean 12-month prior PM2.5 exposure was inversely associated with rBTL (ß = -0.02, 95% CI: -0.04, -0.01). While reported PEARLS scores and domains were not independently associated with rBTL, we observed a greater decrement in rBTL with increment of average annual PM2.5 as reported Social Context domain items increased (p-interaction<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that adverse Social Context factors may accelerate the association between chronic PM2.5 exposure on telomere shortening during childhood.},
}

@article {pmid38588418,
year = {2024},
author = {Padmanaban, S and Lambacher, NJ and Tesmer, VM and Zhang, J and Shibuya, H and Nandakumar, J},
title = {Caenorhabditis elegans telomere-binding proteins TEBP-1 and TEBP-2 adapt the Myb module to dimerize and bind telomeric DNA.},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
volume = {121},
number = {16},
pages = {e2316651121},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.2316651121},
pmid = {38588418},
issn = {1091-6490},
support = {R01HD108809//HHS | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)/ ; R35GM148276//HHS | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)/ ; 211377Pj//Cancerfonden (Swedish Cancer Society)/ ; },
abstract = {Protecting chromosome ends from misrecognition as double-stranded (ds) DNA breaks is fundamental to eukaryotic viability. The protein complex shelterin prevents a DNA damage response at mammalian telomeres. Mammalian shelterin proteins TRF1 and TRF2 and their homologs in yeast and protozoa protect telomeric dsDNA. N-terminal homodimerization and C-terminal Myb-domain-mediated dsDNA binding are two structural hallmarks of end protection by TRF homologs. Yet our understanding of how Caenorhabditis elegans protects its telomeric dsDNA is limited. Recently identified C. elegans proteins TEBP-1 (also called DTN-1) and TEBP-2 (also called DTN-2) are functional homologs of TRF proteins, but how they bind DNA and whether or how they dimerize is not known. TEBP-1 and TEBP-2 harbor three Myb-containing domains (MCDs) and no obvious dimerization domain. We demonstrate biochemically that only the third MCD binds DNA. We solve the X-ray crystal structure of TEBP-2 MCD3 with telomeric dsDNA to reveal the structural mechanism of telomeric dsDNA protection in C. elegans. Mutagenesis of the DNA-binding site of TEBP-1 and TEBP-2 compromises DNA binding in vitro, and increases DNA damage signaling, lengthens telomeres, and decreases brood size in vivo. Via an X-ray crystal structure, biochemical validation of the dimerization interface, and SEC-MALS analysis, we demonstrate that MCD1 and MCD2 form a composite dimerization module that facilitates not only TEBP-1 and TEBP-2 homodimerization but also heterodimerization. These findings provide fundamental insights into C. elegans telomeric dsDNA protection and highlight how different eukaryotes have evolved distinct strategies to solve the chromosome end protection problem.},
}

@article {pmid38587381,
year = {2024},
author = {Martin, NA and McLester-Davis, LWY and Roy, TR and Magruder, MG and Hastings, WJ and Drury, SS},
title = {Monochrome Multiplex Quantitative PCR Telomere Length Measurement.},
journal = {Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE},
volume = {},
number = {205},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3791/66545},
pmid = {38587381},
issn = {1940-087X},
abstract = {Telomeres are ribonucleoprotein structures at the end of all eukaryotic chromosomes that protect DNA from damage and preserve chromosome stability. Telomere length (TL) has been associated with various exposures, biological processes, and health outcomes. This article describes the monochrome multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (MMqPCR) assay protocol routinely conducted in our laboratory for measuring relative mean TL from human DNA. There are several different PCR-based TL measurement methods, but the specific protocol for the MMqPCR method presented in this publication is repeatable, efficient, cost-effective, and suitable for population-based studies. This detailed protocol outlines all information necessary for investigators to establish this assay in their laboratory. In addition, this protocol provides specific steps to increase the reproducibility of TL measurement by this assay, defined by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) across repeated measurements of the same sample. The ICC is a critical factor in evaluating expected power for a specific study population; as such, reporting cohort-specific ICCs for any TL assay is a necessary step to enhance the overall rigor of population-based studies of TL. Example results utilizing DNA samples extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells demonstrate the feasibility of generating highly repeatable TL data using this MMqPCR protocol.},
}

@article {pmid38587189,
year = {2024},
author = {Lee, JJ and Kim, H and Park, H and Lee, U and Kim, C and Lee, M and Shin, Y and Jung, JJ and Lee, HB and Han, W and Lee, H},
title = {Disruption of G-quadruplex dynamicity by BRCA2 abrogation instigates phase separation and break-induced replication at telomeres.},
journal = {Nucleic acids research},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1093/nar/gkae251},
pmid = {38587189},
issn = {1362-4962},
support = {2020R1A5A1018081//National Research Foundation of Korea/ ; //Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation/ ; },
abstract = {Dynamic interaction between BRCA2 and telomeric G-quadruplexes (G4) is crucial for maintaining telomere replication homeostasis. Cells lacking BRCA2 display telomeric damage with a subset of these cells bypassing senescence to initiate break-induced replication (BIR) for telomere synthesis. Here we show that the abnormal stabilization of telomeric G4 following BRCA2 depletion leads to telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA)-R-loop accumulation, triggering liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and the assembly of Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT)-associated promyelocytic leukemia (PML) bodies (APBs). Disruption of R-loops abolishes LLPS and impairs telomere synthesis. Artificial engineering of telomeric LLPS restores telomere synthesis, underscoring the critical role of LLPS in ALT. TERRA-R-loops also recruit Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2), leading to tri-methylation of Lys27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) at telomeres. Half of paraffin-embedded tissue sections from human breast cancers exhibit APBs and telomere length heterogeneity, suggesting that BRCA2 mutations can predispose individuals to ALT-type tumorigenesis. Overall, BRCA2 abrogation disrupts the dynamicity of telomeric G4, producing TERRA-R-loops, finally leading to the assembly of telomeric liquid condensates crucial for ALT. We propose that modulating the dynamicity of telomeric G4 and targeting TERRA-R-loops in telomeric LLPS maintenance may represent effective therapeutic strategies for treating ALT-like cancers with APBs, including those with BRCA2 disruptions.},
}

@article {pmid38584235,
year = {2024},
author = {Lagunas-Rangel, FA},
title = {Giardia telomeres and telomerase.},
journal = {Parasitology research},
volume = {123},
number = {4},
pages = {179},
pmid = {38584235},
issn = {1432-1955},
abstract = {Giardia duodenalis, the protozoan responsible for giardiasis, is a significant contributor to millions of diarrheal diseases worldwide. Despite the availability of treatments for this parasitic infection, therapeutic failures are alarmingly frequent. Thus, there is a clear need to identify new therapeutic targets. Giardia telomeres were previously identified, but our understanding of these structures and the critical role played by Giardia telomerase in maintaining genomic stability and its influence on cellular processes remains limited. In this regard, it is known that all Giardia chromosomes are capped by small telomeres, organized and protected by specific proteins that regulate their functions. To counteract natural telomere shortening and maintain high proliferation, Giardia exhibits constant telomerase activity and employs additional mechanisms, such as the formation of G-quadruplex structures and the involvement of transposable elements linked to telomeric repeats. Thus, this study aims to address the existing knowledge gap by compiling the available information (until 2023) about Giardia telomeres and telomerase, focusing on highlighting the distinctive features within this parasite. Furthermore, the potential feasibility of targeting Giardia telomeres and/or telomerase as an innovative therapeutic strategy is discussed.},
}

@article {pmid38581556,
year = {2024},
author = {Mason, CE and Sierra, MA and Feng, HJ and Bailey, SM},
title = {Telomeres and aging: on and off the planet!.},
journal = {Biogerontology},
volume = {25},
number = {2},
pages = {313-327},
pmid = {38581556},
issn = {1573-6768},
abstract = {Improving human healthspan in our rapidly aging population has never been more imperative. Telomeres, protective "caps" at the ends of linear chromosomes, are essential for maintaining genome stability of eukaryotic genomes. Due to their physical location and the "end-replication problem" first envisioned by Dr. Alexey Olovnikov, telomeres shorten with cell division, the implications of which are remarkably profound. Telomeres are hallmarks and molecular drivers of aging, as well as fundamental integrating components of the cumulative effects of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that erode telomere length over time. Ongoing telomere attrition and the resulting limit to replicative potential imposed by cellular senescence serves a powerful tumor suppressor function, and also underlies aging and a spectrum of age-related degenerative pathologies, including reduced fertility, dementias, cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, very little data exists regarding the extraordinary stressors and exposures associated with long-duration space exploration and eventual habitation of other planets, nor how such missions will influence telomeres, reproduction, health, disease risk, and aging. Here, we briefly review our current understanding, which has advanced significantly in recent years as a result of the NASA Twins Study, the most comprehensive evaluation of human health effects associated with spaceflight ever conducted. Thus, the Twins Study is at the forefront of personalized space medicine approaches for astronauts and sets the stage for subsequent missions. We also extrapolate from current understanding to future missions, highlighting potential biological and biochemical strategies that may enable human survival, and consider the prospect of longevity in the extreme environment of space.},
}

@article {pmid38580193,
year = {2024},
author = {Yun, JJ and Unai, S and Budev, MM and Anandamurthy, B and Almeida, F and Turowski, J and McCurry, KR and Pettersson, G},
title = {Salvage Lung Retransplantation: En-Bloc Double Lung with Bronchial Artery Revascularization For Bronchial Dehiscence Related to Short Telomeres.},
journal = {The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.jtcvs.2024.03.026},
pmid = {38580193},
issn = {1097-685X},
}

@article {pmid38577209,
year = {2024},
author = {Rodseth, E and Sumasgutner, P and Tate, G and Nilsson, JF and Watson, H and Maritz, MF and Ingle, RA and Amar, A},
title = {Pleiotropic effects of melanin pigmentation: haemoparasite infection intensity but not telomere length is associated with plumage morph in black sparrowhawks.},
journal = {Royal Society open science},
volume = {11},
number = {4},
pages = {230370},
pmid = {38577209},
issn = {2054-5703},
abstract = {There is increasing recognition of the potential pleiotropic effects of melanin pigmentation, particularly on immunity, with reports of variation in haemoparasite infection intensity and immune responses between the morphs of colour-polymorphic bird species. In a population of the black sparrowhawk (Accipiter melanoleucus) in western South Africa, light morphs have a higher haemoparasite infection intensity, but no physiological effects of this are apparent. Here, we investigate the possible effects of haemoparasite infection on telomere length in this species and explore whether relative telomere length is associated with either plumage morph or sex. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis, we confirmed that dark morphs had a lower haemoparasite infection intensity than light morphs. However, we found no differences in telomere length associated with either the haemoparasite infection status or morph in adults, although males have longer telomeres than females. While differences in haemoparasite intensity between morphs are consistent with pleiotropic effects of melanin pigmentation in the black sparrowhawk, we found no evidence that telomere length was associated with haemoparasite infection. Further work is needed to investigate the implications of possible pleiotropic effects of plumage morph and their potential role in the maintenance of colour polymorphism in this species.},
}

@article {pmid38577142,
year = {2024},
author = {Prasad, R and Kaur, G},
title = {Recent Domains in Telomere and Telomerase Targeting for Accomplished Cancer Therapy.},
journal = {Indian journal of clinical biochemistry : IJCB},
volume = {39},
number = {2},
pages = {151-153},
pmid = {38577142},
issn = {0970-1915},
}

@article {pmid38574731,
year = {2024},
author = {LaBella, KA and Hsu, WH and Li, J and Qi, Y and Liu, Y and Liu, J and Wu, CC and Liu, Y and Song, Z and Lin, Y and Blecher, JM and Jiang, S and Shang, X and Han, J and Spring, DJ and Zhang, J and Xia, Y and DePinho, RA},
title = {Telomere dysfunction alters intestinal stem cell dynamics to promote cancer.},
journal = {Developmental cell},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1016/j.devcel.2024.03.020},
pmid = {38574731},
issn = {1878-1551},
abstract = {Telomere dynamics are linked to aging hallmarks, and age-associated telomere loss fuels the development of epithelial cancers. In Apc-mutant mice, the onset of DNA damage associated with telomere dysfunction has been shown to accelerate adenoma initiation via unknown mechanisms. Here, we observed that Apc-mutant mice engineered to experience telomere dysfunction show accelerated adenoma formation resulting from augmented cell competition and clonal expansion. Mechanistically, telomere dysfunction induces the repression of EZH2, resulting in the derepression of Wnt antagonists, which causes the differentiation of adjacent stem cells and a relative growth advantage to Apc-deficient telomere dysfunctional cells. Correspondingly, in this mouse model, GSK3β inhibition countered the actions of Wnt antagonists on intestinal stem cells, resulting in impaired adenoma formation of telomere dysfunctional Apc-mutant cells. Thus, telomere dysfunction contributes to cancer initiation through altered stem cell dynamics, identifying an interception strategy for human APC-mutant cancers with shortened telomeres.},
}

@article {pmid38566416,
year = {2024},
author = {Amiard, S and Feit, L and Vanrobays, E and Simon, L and Le Goff, S and Loizeau, L and Wolff, L and Butter, F and Bourbousse, C and Barneche, F and Tatout, C and Probst, AV},
title = {The TELOMERE REPEAT BINDING proteins TRB4 and TRB5 function as transcriptional activators of PRC2-controlled genes to regulate plant development.},
journal = {Plant communications},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {100890},
doi = {10.1016/j.xplc.2024.100890},
pmid = {38566416},
issn = {2590-3462},
abstract = {Plant-specific transcriptional regulators called TELOMERE REPEAT BINDING proteins (TRBs) combine two DNA-binding domains, the GH1 domain, which binds to linker DNA and is shared with H1 histones, and the Myb/SANT domain, which specifically recognizes the telobox DNA-binding site motif. TRB1, TRB2, and TRB3 proteins recruit Polycomb group complex 2 (PRC2) to deposit H3K27me3 and JMJ14 to remove H3K4me3 at gene promoters containing telobox motifs to repress transcription. Here, we demonstrate that TRB4 and TRB5, two related paralogs belonging to a separate TRB clade conserved in spermatophytes, regulate the transcription of several hundred genes involved in developmental responses to environmental cues. Indeed, TRB4 binds to several thousand sites in the genome, mainly at TSS and promoter regions of transcriptionally active and H3K4me3-marked genes, but unlike TRB1 it is not enriched at H3K27me3-marked gene bodies. Yet, TRB4 can physically interact with the catalytic components of PRC2, SWINGER and CURLY LEAF (CLF). Unexpectedly, we show that TRB4 and TRB5 are required for distinctive phenotypic traits observed in clf mutant plants and accordingly function as transcriptional activators of several hundred of CLF-controlled genes, including key flowering genes. We further demonstrate that TRB4 shares multiple target genes with TRB1 and physically and genetically interacts with members of both TRB clades. Collectively, this study uncovers that TRB proteins engage in both positive and negative interactions with other members of the family to regulate plant development through both PRC2-dependent and independent mechanisms.},
}

@article {pmid38565642,
year = {2024},
author = {Huang, R and Bornman, MSR and Stricker, PD and Simoni Brum, I and Mutambirwa, SBA and Jaratlerdsiri, W and Hayes, VM},
title = {The impact of telomere length on prostate cancer aggressiveness, genomic instability and health disparities.},
journal = {Scientific reports},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {7706},
pmid = {38565642},
issn = {2045-2322},
support = {International Research Training Program Scholarship//Australian Government/ ; APP2001098//National Health and Medical Research Council/ ; APP2001098//National Health and Medical Research Council/ ; PC210168//Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs/ ; PC210168//Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs/ ; Petre Chair//Petre Foundation/ ; },
abstract = {The telomere repetitive TTAGGG motif at the ends of chromosomes, serves to preserve genomic integrity and chromosomal stability. In turn, genomic instability is a hallmark of cancer-implicating telomere disturbance. Prostate cancer (PCa) shows significant ancestral disparities, with men of African ancestry at the greatest risk for aggressive disease and associated genomic instability. Yet, no study has explored the role of telomere length (TL) with respect to ancestrally driven PCa health disparities. Patient- and technically-matched tumour-blood whole genome sequencing data for 179 ancestrally defined treatment naïve PCa patients (117 African, 62 European), we assessed for TL (blood and tumour) associations. We found shortened tumour TL to be associated with aggressive PCa presentation and elevated genomic instabilities, including percentage of genome alteration and copy number gains, in men of African ancestry. For European patients, tumour TL showed significant associations with PCa driver genes PTEN, TP53, MSH2, SETBP1 and DDX11L1, while shorter blood TL (< 3200 base pairs) and tumour TL (< 2861 base pairs) were correlated with higher risk for biochemical recurrence. Concurring with previous studies linking TL to PCa diagnosis and/or prognosis, for the first time we correlated TL differences with patient ancestry with important implications for future treatments targeting telomere dysfunction.},
}

@article {pmid38565156,
year = {2024},
author = {Ravindran, S and Underwood, SL and Dorrens, J and Seeker, LA and Watt, K and Wilbourn, RV and Sparks, AM and Sinclair, R and Chen, Z and Pilkington, JG and McNeilly, TN and Harrington, L and Pemberton, JM and Nussey, DH and Froy, H},
title = {No correlative evidence of costs of infection or immunity on leucocyte telomere length in a wild population of Soay sheep.},
journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences},
volume = {291},
number = {2020},
pages = {20232946},
doi = {10.1098/rspb.2023.2946},
pmid = {38565156},
issn = {1471-2954},
abstract = {Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker hypothesized to capture evolutionarily and ecologically important physiological costs of reproduction, infection and immunity. Few studies have estimated the relationships among infection status, immunity, TL and fitness in natural systems. The hypothesis that short telomeres predict reduced survival because they reflect costly consequences of infection and immune investment remains largely untested. Using longitudinal data from a free-living Soay sheep population, we tested whether leucocyte TL was predicted by infection with nematode parasites and antibody levels against those parasites. Helminth parasite burdens were positively associated with leucocyte TL in both lambs and adults, which is not consistent with TL reflecting infection costs. We found no association between TL and helminth-specific IgG levels in either young or old individuals which suggests TL does not reflect costs of an activated immune response or immunosenescence. Furthermore, we found no support for TL acting as a mediator of trade-offs between infection, immunity and subsequent survival in the wild. Our results suggest that while variation in TL could reflect short-term variation in resource investment or environmental conditions, it does not capture costs of infection and immunity, nor does it behave like a marker of an individual's helminth-specific antibody immune response.},
}

@article {pmid38565848,
year = {2024},
author = {Muoio, D and Laspata, N and Dannenberg, RL and Curry, C and Darkoa-Larbi, S and Hedglin, M and Uttam, S and Fouquerel, E},
title = {PARP2 promotes Break Induced Replication-mediated telomere fragility in response to replication stress.},
journal = {Nature communications},
volume = {15},
number = {1},
pages = {2857},
pmid = {38565848},
issn = {2041-1723},
support = {R35GM142982//U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)/ ; },
abstract = {PARP2 is a DNA-dependent ADP-ribosyl transferase (ARTs) enzyme with Poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation activity that is triggered by DNA breaks. It plays a role in the Base Excision Repair pathway, where it has overlapping functions with PARP1. However, additional roles for PARP2 have emerged in the response of cells to replication stress. In this study, we demonstrate that PARP2 promotes replication stress-induced telomere fragility and prevents telomere loss following chronic induction of oxidative DNA lesions and BLM helicase depletion. Telomere fragility results from the activity of the break-induced replication pathway (BIR). During this process, PARP2 promotes DNA end resection, strand invasion and BIR-dependent mitotic DNA synthesis by orchestrating POLD3 recruitment and activity. Our study has identified a role for PARP2 in the response to replication stress. This finding may lead to the development of therapeutic approaches that target DNA-dependent ART enzymes, particularly in cancer cells with high levels of replication stress.},
}

@article {pmid38559121,
year = {2024},
author = {Estrem, B and Davis, RE and Wang, J},
title = {End resection and telomere healing of DNA double-strand breaks during nematode programmed DNA elimination.},
journal = {bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1101/2024.03.15.585292},
pmid = {38559121},
abstract = {Most DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are harmful to genome integrity. However, some forms of DSBs are essential to biological processes, such as meiotic recombination and V(D)J recombination. DSBs are also required for programmed DNA elimination (PDE) in ciliates and nematodes. In nematodes, the DSBs are healed with telomere addition. While telomere addition sites have been well-characterized, little is known regarding the DSBs that fragment nematode chromosomes. Here, we used embryos from the nematode Ascaris to study the timing of PDE breaks and examine the DSBs and their end processing. Using END-seq, we characterize the DSB ends and demonstrate that DNA breaks are introduced before mitosis, followed by extensive end resection. The resection profile is unique for each break site, and the resection generates 3' overhangs before the addition of telomeres. Interestingly, telomere healing occurs much more frequently on retained DSB ends than on eliminated ends. This biased repair of the DSB ends in Ascaris may be due to the sequestration of the eliminated DNA into micronuclei, preventing their ends from telomere healing. Additional DNA breaks occur within the eliminated DNA in both Ascaris and Parascaris , ensuring chromosomal breakage and providing a fail-safe mechanism for nematode PDE.},
}

@article {pmid38553835,
year = {2024},
author = {Kirk, B and Kuo, CL and Liu, P and Xiang, M and Earp, JE and Kositsawat, J and Kuchel, GA and Duque, G},
title = {Leukocyte telomere length is associated with MRI-thigh fat-free muscle volume: data from 16 356 UK Biobank adults.},
journal = {Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1002/jcsm.13461},
pmid = {38553835},
issn = {2190-6009},
support = {NR018963-01A1//National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Health, USA/ ; P30AG067988//National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Health, USA./ ; //TSI Pharmaceuticals/ ; ICG001874//Australian Government (Department of Industry, Science and Resources)/ ; },
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Telomere attrition may share common biological mechanisms with bone and muscle loss with aging. Here, we investigated the association between these hallmarks of aging using data from UK Biobank, a large observational study.

METHODS: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL as T/S ratio) was measured using a multiplex qPCR assay at baseline (2006-2010). Bone mineral density (whole body and regional; via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), trabecular bone score (via lumbar-spine dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry images), fat-free muscle volume (thighs; via magnetic resonance imaging), and muscle fat infiltration (thighs; via magnetic resonance imaging) were measured during the imaging visit (2014-2018). Regression models were used to model LTL against a muscle or bone outcome, unadjusted and adjusted for covariates.

RESULTS: A total of 16 356 adults (mean age: 62.8 ± 7.5 years, 50.5% women) were included. In the fully adjusted model, thigh fat-free muscle volume was associated with LTL in the overall sample (adjusted standardized β (aβ) = 0.017, 95% CI 0.009 to 0.026, P < 0.001, per SD increase in LTL), with stronger associations in men (aβ = 0.022, 95% CI 0.010 to 0.034, P < 0.001) than in women (aβ = 0.013, 95% CI 0.000 to 0.025, P = 0.041) (sex-LTL P = 0.028). The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for low thigh fat-free muscle volume (body mass index-adjusted, sex-specific bottom 20%) was 0.93 per SD increase in LTL (95% CI 0.89 to 0.96, P < 0.001) in the overall sample, with stronger associations in men (aOR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.87 to 0.99, P = 0.008) than women (aOR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.98, P = 0.009), although the sex difference was not statistically significant in this model (sex-LTL P = 0.37). LTL was not associated with bone mineral density, trabecular bone score, or muscle fat infiltration in the overall or subgroup analyses (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: LTL was consistently associated with thigh fat-free muscle volume in men and women. Future research should investigate moderating effects of lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity, nutrition, or chronic diseases) in the association between LTL and muscle volume.},
}

@article {pmid38552826,
year = {2024},
author = {Dehdashti, B and Miri, M and Khanahmad, H and Feizi, A and Mohammadi, F and Rouholamin, S and Amin, MM},
title = {In-Utero exposure to potential sources of indoor air pollution and umbilical cord blood leukocyte telomere length.},
journal = {Environmental research},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {118791},
doi = {10.1016/j.envres.2024.118791},
pmid = {38552826},
issn = {1096-0953},
abstract = {Indoor air pollution (IAP) has been associated with various adverse health effects. However, the evidence regarding such an association with leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in cord blood samples is still scarce. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the relationship between exposure to indicators of IAP and LTL in umbilical cord blood samples. This cross-sectional study was based on 188 mother-newborn pairs who participated in our study between 2020 and 2022 in Isfahan, Iran. Umbilical LTL was measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) technique. Linear mixed-effect models were used to assess the relationship between IAP indicators and umbilical LTL, adjusted for relevant covariates. The median (interquartile range (IQR)) of umbilical LTL was 0.92 (0.47). In fully adjusted models, frequency of using degreasing spray during pregnancy (times per month) (β = -0.047, 95% CI:0.09, -0.05, P-value = 0.02), using air freshener spray during pregnancy (β = -0.26, 95% CI: -0.5, -0.02, P-value = 0.03) and frequency of using insecticides during pregnancy (times per month) (β = -0.025, 95% CI: -0.047, -0.003, P-value = 0.02) were significantly associated with shorter umbilical LTL. There was a positive significant relationship between the frequency of using cleaning spray during pregnancy (times per month) with umbilical LTL (β = 0.019, 95% CI: 0.005, 0.033, P-value = 0.01). Furthermore, the direct connection of the parking with home and the frequency of using barbecue (times per week) were marginally associated with shorter umbilical LTL. For other indicators of IAP, we did not observe any statistically significant associations. Overall, this study suggested a negative association between prenatal exposure to IAP during pregnancy and umbilical LTL.},
}

@article {pmid38550590,
year = {2024},
author = {Kraft, BD and Verhulst, S and Lai, TP and Sullenger, BA and Wang, Y and Rountree, W and Chen, L and Woods, CW and Denny, TN and Aviv, A},
title = {T-cell count and T-cell telomere length in patients with severe COVID-19.},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
volume = {15},
number = {},
pages = {1356638},
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2024.1356638},
pmid = {38550590},
issn = {1664-3224},
abstract = {Lymphocyte telomere length (TL) is highly variable and shortens with age. Short telomeres may impede TL-dependent T-cell clonal expansion with viral infection. As SARS-CoV-2 infection can induce prolonged and severe T-cell lymphopenia, infected adults, and particularly older adults with short telomeres, may display severe T-cell lymphopenia. To examine the relationship between T-cell TL parameters and T-cell counts, we studied 40 patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19. T-cells were isolated from lymphocytes, counted using flow cytometry, and their TL parameters were measured using the Telomere Shortest Length Assay. The cohort (median age = 62 years, 27% female) was racially and ethnically diverse (33% White, 35% Black, and 33% Other). On intensive care unit study day 1, T-cell count (mean=1.03 x10[9]/L) was inversely related to age (p=0.007) and higher in females than males (p=0.025). Mean TL was 3.88 kilobases (kb), and 45.3% of telomeres were shorter than 3 kb. Using multiple regression analysis and adjusting for age and sex, T-cell count decreased with increased proportion of T-cell telomeres shorter than 3 kb (p=0.033) and increased with mean TL (p=0.052). Our findings suggest an association between the buildup of short telomeres within T-cells and explain in part reduced peripheral blood T-cell counts in patients with severe COVID-19. Shortened T-cell telomeres may be a risk factor for COVID-19-associated T-cell lymphopenia.},
}

@article {pmid38542157,
year = {2024},
author = {Pochechueva, TV and Schwenzer, N and Kohl, T and Brandenburg, S and Kaltenecker, G and Wollnik, B and Lehnart, SE},
title = {3D Super-Resolution Nuclear Q-FISH Imaging Reveals Cell-Cycle-Related Telomere Changes.},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
volume = {25},
number = {6},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/ijms25063183},
pmid = {38542157},
issn = {1422-0067},
support = {EXC 2067//Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/ ; },
abstract = {We present novel workflows for Q-FISH nanoscopy with the potential for prognostic applications and resolving novel chromatin compaction changes. DNA-fluorescence in situ hybridization (DNA-FISH) is a routine application to visualize telomeres, repetitive terminal DNA sequences, in cells and tissues. Telomere attrition is associated with inherited and acquired diseases, including cancer and cardiomyopathies, and is frequently analyzed by quantitative (Q)-FISH microscopy. Recently, nanoscopic imaging techniques have resolved individual telomere dimensions and their compaction as a prognostic marker, in part leading to conflicting conclusions still unresolved to date. Here, we developed a comprehensive Q-FISH nanoscopy workflow to assess telomeres with PNA telomere probes and 3D-Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy combined with Dynamic Intensity Minimum (DyMIN) scanning. We achieved single-telomere resolution at high, unprecedented telomere coverage. Importantly, our approach revealed a decrease in telomere signal density during mitotic cell division compared to interphase. Innovatively expanding FISH-STED applications, we conducted double FISH targeting of both telomere- and chromosome-specific sub-telomeric regions and accomplished FISH-STED in human cardiac biopsies. In summary, this work further advanced Q-FISH nanoscopy, detected a new aspect of telomere compaction related to the cell cycle, and laid the groundwork for future applications in complex cell types such as post-mitotic neurons and muscle cells.},
}

@article {pmid38540683,
year = {2024},
author = {Olson, CL and Wuttke, DS},
title = {Guardians of the Genome: How the Single-Stranded DNA-Binding Proteins RPA and CST Facilitate Telomere Replication.},
journal = {Biomolecules},
volume = {14},
number = {3},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/biom14030263},
pmid = {38540683},
issn = {2218-273X},
support = {R01 GM139274/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; },
abstract = {Telomeres act as the protective caps of eukaryotic linear chromosomes; thus, proper telomere maintenance is crucial for genome stability. Successful telomere replication is a cornerstone of telomere length regulation, but this process can be fraught due to the many intrinsic challenges telomeres pose to the replication machinery. In addition to the famous "end replication" problem due to the discontinuous nature of lagging strand synthesis, telomeres require various telomere-specific steps for maintaining the proper 3' overhang length. Bulk telomere replication also encounters its own difficulties as telomeres are prone to various forms of replication roadblocks. These roadblocks can result in an increase in replication stress that can cause replication forks to slow, stall, or become reversed. Ultimately, this leads to excess single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) that needs to be managed and protected for replication to continue and to prevent DNA damage and genome instability. RPA and CST are single-stranded DNA-binding protein complexes that play key roles in performing this task and help stabilize stalled forks for continued replication. The interplay between RPA and CST, their functions at telomeres during replication, and their specialized features for helping overcome replication stress at telomeres are the focus of this review.},
}

@article {pmid38540177,
year = {2024},
author = {Younoussa, H and Gadji, M and Soumboundou, M and Colicchio, B and Said, A and Ndoye, NA and Junker, S and Plesch, A and Heidingsfelder, L and Diagne, NR and Dieterlen, A and Voisin, P and Carde, P and Jeandidier, E and M'kacher, R},
title = {Telomere Dysfunction in Pediatric Patients with Differences/Disorders of Sexual Development.},
journal = {Biomedicines},
volume = {12},
number = {3},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/biomedicines12030565},
pmid = {38540177},
issn = {2227-9059},
abstract = {UNLABELLED: Differences/Disorders of sex development (DSDs) are conditions in which the development of chromosomal, gonadal, and anatomical sexes is atypical. DSDs are relatively rare, but their incidence is becoming alarmingly common in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Their etiologies and mechanisms are poorly understood. Therefore, we have investigated cytogenetic profiles, including telomere dysfunction, in a retrospective cohort of Senegalese DSD patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Peripheral blood lymphocytes were sampled from 35 DSD patients (mean age: 3.3 years; range 0-18 years) admitted to two hospital centers in Dakar. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from 150 healthy donors were used as a control. Conventional cytogenetics, telomere, and centromere staining followed by multiplex FISH, as well as FISH with SRY-specific probes, were employed.

RESULTS: Cytogenetic analysis identified 19 male and 13 female patients with apparently normal karyotypes, two patients with Turner syndrome, and one patient with Klinefelter syndrome. Additional structural chromosome aberrations were detected in 22% of the patients (8/35). Telomere analysis revealed a reduction in mean telomere lengths of DSD patients compared to those of healthy donors of similar age. This reduction in telomere length was associated with an increased rate of telomere aberrations (telomere loss and the formation of telomere doublets) and the presence of additional chromosomal aberrations.

CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate a correlation between telomere dysfunction and DSDs. Further studies may reveal the link between telomere dysfunction and possible mechanisms involved in the disease itself, such as DNA repair deficiency or specific gene mutations. The present study demonstrates the relevance of implementing telomere analysis in prenatal tests as well as in diagnosed genetic DSD disorders.},
}

@article {pmid38540151,
year = {2024},
author = {Duseikaite, M and Vilkeviciute, A and Kunceviciene, E and Gedvilaite, G and Kriauciuniene, L and Liutkeviciene, R},
title = {Associations between ZNF676, CTC1 Gene Polymorphisms and Relative Leukocyte Telomere Length with Myopia and Its Degree.},
journal = {Biomedicines},
volume = {12},
number = {3},
pages = {},
doi = {10.3390/biomedicines12030538},
pmid = {38540151},
issn = {2227-9059},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: The interaction between environmental and genetic factors that influence eye growth, regulated by vision, contributes to the development and progression of myopia. This dynamic interaction significantly contributes to the multifaceted development and progression of myopia, a prevalent ocular condition. Our study delves into the associations between ZNF676 and CTC1 gene polymorphisms and their impact on the relative leukocyte telomere length (relative LTL) in myopia, as well as its degree. By unravelling these underpinnings in conjunction with environmental influences, we aim to enhance our understanding of the complex mechanisms that drive the onset and severity of myopia.

METHODS: This study included patients with myopia and ophthalmologically healthy subjects. DNA was extracted from peripheral venous blood by the salting out method. Genotyping of ZNF676 rs412658 and CTC1 rs3027234, as well as the measurement of relative LTL, were conducted using a real-time polymerase chain reaction method (RT-PCR). The data obtained were statistically analyzed using the "IBM SPSS Statistics 29.0" software program.

RESULTS: The results show that myopic patients who are homozygous for the rs3027234 rare allele genotype of the CTC1 gene have statistically significantly shorter relative LTL compared to patients with the CC and CT genotypes. Also, men with the CTC1 rs3027234 TT genotype have statistically significantly longer leukocyte telomeres than women with the same genotype. The respective median (IQR) of the relative LTL for women and men is 0.280 (0.463) vs. 0.696 (0.440), with a p-value of 0.027. The myopia group with the ZNF676 rs412658 CC genotype has statistically significantly shorter leukocyte telomeres than the control group with the same genotype (age ≤ 29), and the p-value is 0.011. Also, the myopia group with the ZNF676 rs412658 CT and CTC1 rs3027234 CT genotypes have statistically significantly longer leukocyte telomeres than the control group with the same genotypes (age > 29), with p-values that are, respectively, 0.016 and 0.012. The evaluation of the genotype distributions of the polymorphisms in the myopia patients showed that ZNF676 rs412658 CT genotype carriers have 4-fold decreased odds of high myopia occurrence (OR = 0.250; CI: 0.076-0.826; p = 0.023). Also, the evaluation of the allele distributions of the polymorphism under the additive genetic model in the myopia group showed that the ZNF676 rs412658 T allele was associated with similar odds of high myopia (OR = 0.269; 95% CI: 0.090-0.807; p = 0.019). The comprehensive p-value, assessing the relative LTL of subjects across the different levels of myopia, signifies a statistical difference in the relative LTL among individuals with varying degrees of myopia. There was a statistically significant difference in relative LTL between mild and moderate myopia degrees (0.819 (1.983) vs. 0.083 (0.930), p = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS: CTC1 rs3027234 TT may be considered a protective genotype for telomere shortening in men, while the overall telomere shortening might be linked to the worse myopia degree. The ZNF676 rs412658 T allele may protect against a high myopia occurrence.},
}

@article {pmid38539016,
year = {2024},
author = {Mutz, J and Wong, WLE and Powell, TR and Young, AH and Dawe, GS and Lewis, CM},
title = {The duration of lithium use and biological ageing: telomere length, frailty, metabolomic age and all-cause mortality.},
journal = {GeroScience},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {38539016},
issn = {2509-2723},
abstract = {Lithium is an established first-line treatment for bipolar disorder. Beyond its therapeutic effect as a mood stabiliser, lithium exhibits potential anti-ageing effects. This study aimed to examine the relationship between the duration of lithium use, biological ageing and mortality. The UK Biobank is an observational study of middle-aged and older adults. We tested associations between the duration of lithium use (number of prescriptions, total duration of use and duration of the first prescription period) and telomere length, frailty, metabolomic age (MileAge) delta, pulse rate and all-cause mortality. Five hundred ninety-one individuals (mean age = 57.49 years; 55% females) had been prescribed lithium. There was no evidence that the number of prescriptions (β = - 0.022, 95% CI - 0.081 to 0.037, p = 0.47), the total duration of use (β = - 0.005, 95% CI - 0.023 to 0.013, p = 0.57) or the duration of the first prescription period (β = - 0.018, 95% CI - 0.051 to 0.015, p = 0.29) correlated with telomere length. There was also no evidence that the duration of lithium use correlated with frailty or MileAge delta. However, a higher prescription count and a longer duration of use was associated with a lower pulse rate. The duration of lithium use did not predict all-cause mortality. We observed no evidence of associations between the duration of lithium use and biological ageing markers, including telomere length. Our findings suggest that the potential anti-ageing effects of lithium do not differ by the duration of use.},
}

@article {pmid38533417,
year = {2024},
author = {Xu, B and Ren, J and Zhu, S and Ding, Y and Zhou, W and Guo, Q and Fang, Y and Zheng, J},
title = {Causal relationship between telomere length and risk of intracranial aneurysm: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.},
journal = {Frontiers in neurology},
volume = {15},
number = {},
pages = {1355895},
pmid = {38533417},
issn = {1664-2295},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Telomere length is closely linked to the aging phenotype, where cellular aging results in the production of a cascade of cell factors and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), leading to an inflammatory response. The presence of inflammation plays a crucial role in the formation of intracranial aneurysms. Nevertheless, the relationship between telomere length and intracranial aneurysms remains unclear. This study aims to explore the causal connection between telomere length and intracranial aneurysms through the utilization of Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

METHODS: Data on telomere length were obtained from the genome-wide association studies conducted on the UK Biobank, comprising a total of 472,174 participants. Data on intracranial aneurysms were obtained from the summary dataset of the Global Genome-wide Association Study (GWAS) conducted by the International Stroke Genetics Consortium. The dataset consisted of 7,495 cases and 71,934 controls, all of European descent. Initially, the linkage disequilibrium score was used to investigate the connection between telomere length and intracranial aneurysms. Subsequently, a bidirectional MR was conducted using two-sample analysis to assess whether there is a causal connection between telomere length and intracranial aneurysm risk. The results were analyzed utilizing five MR methods, with the inverse variance weighted method serving as the main methodology. In addition, we did various analyses to evaluate the presence of heterogeneity, pleiotropy, and sensitivity in the study results. A reverse MR analysis was conducted to investigate potential reverse causal links.

RESULTS: In the forward MR analysis, it was observed that both the inverse variance-weighted and weighted median analyses implied a potential causal relationship between longer telomere length and a decreased incidence of intracranial aneurysms (IVW: OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.47-0.92, p = 1.49 × 10[-2]). There was no heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy. The findings were verified to be robust through the utilization of leave-one-out analysis. The use of reverse MR analysis did not establish a potential causal link between the occurrence of intracranial aneurysms and telomere length.

CONCLUSION: There may exist a potential correlation between longer telomere length and a decreased likelihood of intracranial aneurysms within the European population. The present study offers novel insights into the correlation between telomere length and intracranial aneurysms. Additional research is required to clarify the underlying mechanisms and validate our discoveries in diverse populations.},
}

@article {pmid38525449,
year = {2024},
author = {Chauhan, VS and Sibin, MK and Yadav, P and Sharma, M},
title = {To study childhood trauma in patients with bipolar affective disorder and its association with leucocyte telomere length.},
journal = {Medical journal, Armed Forces India},
volume = {80},
number = {2},
pages = {184-191},
pmid = {38525449},
issn = {0377-1237},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: Childhood traumatic (CT) events are more frequent in Bipolar Affective Disorder (BD) than in healthy individuals. As per existing studies, telomere shortening might be associated with psychiatric illnesses and aging-related disorders. One basis could be CT in BD aiding in telomere shortening.

METHODS: 100 BD patients and 100 healthy controls (HC) were matched for age and sex. All the participants were administered Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Subsequently, Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (q-PCR) was performed in order to verify leukocyte telomere length (LTL) for both cases and controls.

RESULTS: Presence of subtypes of moderate to severe CT among cases revealed emotional abuse in 35%, physical abuse in 16%, and sexual abuse in 15%. BD patients had significantly shorter telomeres in comparison to HC. BD patients with CT had significantly shorter LTL as compared to healthy controls with CT. The association between CT and LTL was not statistically significant in cases as well as in controls.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed presence of CT (moderate to severe) in 46% of BD patients and 12% in age and sex-matched healthy controls. All CT subtypes except sexual abuse were significantly higher among cases than in healthy controls. Mean score of LTL among cases including that with CT was significantly lower than the healthy controls.},
}

@article {pmid38519061,
year = {2024},
author = {Lieber, SB and Lipschultz, RA and Syed, S and Rajan, M and Venkatraman, S and Lin, M and Reid, MC and Lue, NF and Mandl, LA},
title = {Association of phenotypic frailty and hand grip strength with telomere length in SLE.},
journal = {Lupus science & medicine},
volume = {11},
number = {1},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1136/lupus-2023-001008},
pmid = {38519061},
issn = {2053-8790},
abstract = {OBJECTIVE: Frailty and objective hand grip strength (one of the components of the frailty phenotype) are both risk factors for worse health outcomes in SLE. Whether telomere length, an established cellular senescence marker, is a biologic correlate of the frailty phenotype and hand grip strength in patients with SLE is not clear. First, we aimed to evaluate differences in telomere length between frail and non-frail women with SLE and then assessed whether frailty or hand grip strength is differentially associated with telomere length after adjusting for relevant confounders.

METHODS: Women ≥18 years of age with validated SLE enrolled at a single medical centre. Fried frailty status (which includes hand grip strength), clinical characteristics and telomere length were assessed cross-sectionally. Differences between frail and non-frail participants were evaluated using Fisher's exact or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. The associations between frailty and hand grip strength and telomere length were determined using linear regression.

RESULTS: Of the 150 enrolled participants, 131 had sufficient data for determination of frailty classification; 26% were frail with a median age of 45 years. There was a non-significant trend towards shorter telomere length in frail versus non-frail participants (p=0.07). Hand grip strength was significantly associated with telomere length (beta coefficient 0.02, 95% CI 0.004, 0.04), including after adjustment for age, SLE disease activity and organ damage, and comorbidity (beta coefficient 0.02, 95% CI 0.002, 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS: Decreased hand grip strength, but not frailty, was independently associated with shortened telomere length in a cohort of non-elderly women with SLE. Frailty in this middle-aged cohort may be multifactorial rather than strictly a manifestation of accelerated ageing.},
}

@article {pmid38518608,
year = {2024},
author = {Wei, B and Zhou, Y and Li, Q and Zhen, S and Wu, Q and Xiao, Z and Liao, J and Zhu, B and Duan, J and Yang, X and Liang, F},
title = {Outdoor fine particulate matter exposure and telomere length in humans: A systematic review and meta-analysis.},
journal = {Ecotoxicology and environmental safety},
volume = {275},
number = {},
pages = {116206},
doi = {10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116206},
pmid = {38518608},
issn = {1090-2414},
abstract = {Although the association between changes in human telomere length (TL) and ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been documented, there remains disagreement among the related literature. Our study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies to investigate the health effects of outdoor PM2.5 exposure on human TL after a thorough database search. To quantify the overall effect estimates of TL changes associated with every 10 μg/m[3] increase in PM2.5 exposure, we focused on two main topics, which were outdoor long-term exposure and prenatal exposure of PM2.5. Additionally, we included a summary of short-term PM2.5 exposure and its impact on TL due to limited data availability. Our qualitative analysis included 20 studies with 483,600 participants. The meta-analysis showed a statistically significant association between outdoor PM2.5 exposure and shorter human TL, with pooled impact estimates (β) of -0.12 (95% CI: -0.20, -0.03, I[2]= 95.4%) for general long-term exposure and -0.07 (95% CI: -0.15, 0.00, I[2]= 74.3%) for prenatal exposure. In conclusion, our findings suggest that outdoor PM2.5 exposure may contribute to TL shortening, and noteworthy associations were observed in specific subgroups, suggesting the impact of various research variables. Larger, high-quality studies using standardized methodologies are necessary to strengthen these conclusions further.},
}

@article {pmid38516039,
year = {2024},
author = {Carver, AJ and Hing, B and Elser, BA and Lussier, SJ and Yamanashi, T and Howard, MA and Kawasaki, H and Shinozaki, G and Stevens, HE},
title = {Correlation of telomere length in brain tissue with peripheral tissues in living human subjects.},
journal = {Frontiers in molecular neuroscience},
volume = {17},
number = {},
pages = {1303974},
doi = {10.3389/fnmol.2024.1303974},
pmid = {38516039},
issn = {1662-5099},
abstract = {Telomeres are important to chromosomal stability, and changes in their length correlate with disease, potentially relevant to brain disorders. Assessing telomere length in human brain is invasive, but whether peripheral tissue telomere length correlates with that in brain is not known. Saliva, buccal, blood, and brain samples were collected at time points before, during, and after subjects undergoing neurosurgery (n = 35) for intractable epilepsy. DNA was isolated from samples and average telomere length assessed by qPCR. Correlations of telomere length between tissue samples were calculated across subjects. When data were stratified by sex, saliva telomere length correlated with brain telomere length in males only. Buccal telomere length correlated with brain telomere length when males and females were combined. These findings indicate that in living subjects, telomere length in peripheral tissues variably correlates with that in brain and may be dependent on sex. Peripheral tissue telomere length may provide insight into brain telomere length, relevant to assessment of brain disorder pathophysiology.},
}

@article {pmid38515829,
year = {2024},
author = {Chien, CW and Tang, YA and Jeng, SL and Pan, HA and Sun, HS},
title = {Blastocyst telomere length predicts successful implantation after frozen-thawed embryo transfer.},
journal = {Human reproduction open},
volume = {2024},
number = {2},
pages = {hoae012},
doi = {10.1093/hropen/hoae012},
pmid = {38515829},
issn = {2399-3529},
abstract = {STUDY QUESTION: Do embryos with longer telomere length (TL) at the blastocyst stage have a higher capacity to survive after frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET)?

SUMMARY ANSWER: Digitally estimated TL using low-pass whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from the preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) process demonstrates that blastocyst TL is the most essential factor associated with likelihood of implantation.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: The lifetime TL is established in the early cleavage cycles following fertilization through a recombination-based lengthening mechanism and starts erosion beyond the blastocyst stage. In addition, a telomerase-mediated slow erosion of TL in human fetuses has been observed from a gestational age of 6-11 weeks. Finally, an abnormal shortening of telomeres is likely involved in embryo loss during early development.

STUDY DESIGN SIZE DURATION: Blastocyst samples were obtained from patients who underwent PGT-A and FET in an IVF center from March 2015 to May 2018. Digitally estimated mitochondrial copy number (mtCN) and TL were used to study associations with the implantation potential of each embryo.

In total, 965 blastocysts from 232 cycles (164 patients) were available to investigate the biological and clinical relevance of TL. A WGS-based workflow was applied to determine the ploidy of each embryo. Data from low-pass WGS-PGT-A were used to estimate the mtCN and TL for each embryo. Single-variant and multi-variant logistic regression, decision tree, and random forest models were applied to study various factors in association with the implantation potential of each embryo.

Of the 965 blastocysts originally available, only 216 underwent FET. While mtCN from the transferred embryos is significantly associated with the ploidy call of each embryo, mtCN has no role in impacting IVF outcomes after an embryo transfer in these women. The results indicate that mtCN is a marker of embryo aneuploidy. On the other hand, digitally estimated TL is the most prominent univariant factor and showed a significant positive association with pregnancy outcomes (P < 0.01, odds ratio 79.1). We combined several maternal and embryo parameters to study the joint effects on successful implantation. The machine learning models, namely decision tree and random forest, were trained and yielded classification accuracy of 0.82 and 0.91, respectively. Taken together, these results support the vital role of TL in governing implantation potential, perhaps through the ability to control embryo survival after transfer.

The small sample size limits our study as only 216 blastocysts were transferred. The number was further reduced to 153 blastocysts, where pregnancy outcomes could be accurately traced. The other limitation of this study is that all data were collected from a single IVF center. The uniform and controlled operation of IVF cycles in a single center may cause selection bias.

We present novel findings to show that digitally estimated TL at the blastocyst stage is a predictor of pregnancy capacity after a FET cycle. As elective single-embryo transfer has become the mainstream direction in reproductive medicine, prioritizing embryos based on their implantation potential is crucial for clinical infertility treatment in order to reduce twin pregnancy rate and the time to pregnancy in an IVF center. The AI-powered, random forest prediction model established in this study thus provides a way to improve clinical practice and optimize the chances for people with fertility problems to achieve parenthood.

This study was supported by a grant from the National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan (MOST 108-2321-B-006-013 -). There were no competing interests.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: N/A.},
}

@article {pmid38512957,
year = {2024},
author = {An, G and Zhao, X and Zhao, C},
title = {Unraveling the causal association between leukocyte telomere length and infertility: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study.},
journal = {PloS one},
volume = {19},
number = {3},
pages = {e0298997},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0298997},
pmid = {38512957},
issn = {1932-6203},
abstract = {Infertility is a significant challenge in modern society, and observed studies have reported the association between telomere length and infertility. Whether this relationship is causal remains controversial.We employed two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the causal relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and major causes of infertility, including male and female infertility, sperm abnormalities, and endometriosis. MR analyses were mainly performed using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method and complemented with other MR methods.Our findings demonstrate a causal association between LTL and endometriosis (OR1.304, 95% CI (1.122,1.517), p = 0.001), suggesting its potential as a biomarker for this condition. However, we did not observe a significant causal relationship between LTL and other infertility causes.Our study presents compelling evidence on the relationship between LTL and endometriosis. Meanwhile, our study demonstrates that there is no causal relationship between LTL and infertility. This research contributes to the field by shedding light on the importance of LTL in the early diagnosis and intervention of endometriosis.},
}

@article {pmid38510147,
year = {2024},
author = {Keller, D and Stinus, S and Umlauf, D and Gourbeyre, E and Biot, E and Olivier, N and Mahou, P and Beaurepaire, E and Andrey, P and Crabbe, L},
title = {Non-random spatial organization of telomeres varies during the cell cycle and requires LAP2 and BAF.},
journal = {iScience},
volume = {27},
number = {4},
pages = {109343},
pmid = {38510147},
issn = {2589-0042},
abstract = {Spatial genome organization within the nucleus influences major biological processes and is impacted by the configuration of linear chromosomes. Here, we applied 3D spatial statistics and modeling on high-resolution telomere and centromere 3D-structured illumination microscopy images in cancer cells. We found a multi-scale organization of telomeres that dynamically evolved from a mixed clustered-and-regular distribution in early G1 to a purely regular distribution as cells progressed through the cell cycle. In parallel, our analysis revealed two pools of peripheral and internal telomeres, the proportions of which were inverted during the cell cycle. We then conducted a targeted screen using MadID to identify the molecular pathways driving or maintaining telomere anchoring to the nuclear envelope observed in early G1. Lamina-associated polypeptide (LAP) proteins were found transiently localized to telomeres in anaphase, a stage where LAP2α initiates the reformation of the nuclear envelope, and impacted telomere redistribution in the next interphase together with their partner barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF).},
}

@article {pmid38509838,
year = {2024},
author = {Wolf, SE and Woodruff, MJ and Chang van Oordt, DA and Clotfelter, ED and Cristol, DA and Derryberry, EP and Ferguson, SM and Stanback, MT and Taff, CC and Vitousek, MN and Westneat, DF and Rosvall, KA},
title = {Among-population variation in telomere regulatory proteins and their potential role as hidden drivers of intraspecific variation in life history.},
journal = {The Journal of animal ecology},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
doi = {10.1111/1365-2656.14071},
pmid = {38509838},
issn = {1365-2656},
support = {T32 HD049336/NH/NIH HHS/United States ; },
abstract = {Biologists aim to explain patterns of growth, reproduction and ageing that characterize life histories, yet we are just beginning to understand the proximate mechanisms that generate this diversity. Existing research in this area has focused on telomeres but has generally overlooked the telomere's most direct mediator, the shelterin protein complex. Shelterin proteins physically interact with the telomere to shape its shortening and repair. They also regulate metabolism and immune function, suggesting a potential role in life history variation in the wild. However, research on shelterin proteins is uncommon outside of biomolecular work. Intraspecific analyses can play an important role in resolving these unknowns because they reveal subtle variation in life history within and among populations. Here, we assessed ecogeographic variation in shelterin protein abundance across eight populations of tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) with previously documented variation in environmental and life history traits. Using the blood gene expression of four shelterin proteins in 12-day-old nestlings, we tested the hypothesis that shelterin protein gene expression varies latitudinally and in relation to both telomere length and life history. Shelterin protein gene expression differed among populations and tracked non-linear variation in latitude: nestlings from mid-latitudes expressed nearly double the shelterin mRNA on average than those at more northern and southern sites. However, telomere length was not significantly related to latitude. We next assessed whether telomere length and shelterin protein gene expression correlate with 12-day-old body mass and wing length, two proxies of nestling growth linked to future fecundity and survival. We found that body mass and wing length correlated more strongly (and significantly) with shelterin protein gene expression than with telomere length. These results highlight telomere regulatory shelterin proteins as potential mediators of life history variation among populations. Together with existing research linking shelterin proteins and life history variation within populations, these ecogeographic patterns underscore the need for continued integration of ecology, evolution and telomere biology, which together will advance understanding of the drivers of life history variation in nature.},
}

@article {pmid38504468,
year = {2024},
author = {Hastings, WJ and Ye, Q and Wolf, SE and Ryan, CP and Das, SK and Huffman, KM and Kobor, MS and Kraus, WE and MacIsaac, JL and Martin, CK and Racette, SB and Redman, LM and Belsky, DW and Shalev, I},
title = {Effect of long-term caloric restriction on telomere length in healthy adults: CALERIE™ 2 trial analysis.},
journal = {Aging cell},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {e14149},
doi = {10.1111/acel.14149},
pmid = {38504468},
issn = {1474-9726},
abstract = {Caloric restriction (CR) modifies lifespan and aging biology in animal models. The Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy (CALERIE™) 2 trial tested translation of these findings to humans. CALERIE™ randomized healthy, nonobese men and premenopausal women (age 21-50y; BMI 22.0-27.9 kg/m[2]), to 25% CR or ad-libitum (AL) control (2:1) for 2 years. Prior analyses of CALERIE™ participants' blood chemistries, immunology, and epigenetic data suggest the 2-year CR intervention slowed biological aging. Here, we extend these analyses to test effects of CR on telomere length (TL) attrition. TL was quantified in blood samples collected at baseline, 12-, and 24-months by quantitative PCR (absolute TL; aTL) and a published DNA-methylation algorithm (DNAmTL). Intent-to-treat analysis found no significant differences in TL attrition across the first year, although there were trends toward increased attrition in the CR group for both aTL and DNAmTL measurements. When accounting for adherence heterogeneity with an Effect-of-Treatment-on-the-Treated analysis, greater CR dose was associated with increased DNAmTL attrition during the baseline to 12-month weight-loss period. By contrast, both CR group status and increased CR were associated with reduced aTL attrition over the month 12 to month 24 weight maintenance period. No differences were observed when considering TL change across the study duration from baseline to 24-months, leaving it unclear whether CR-related effects reflect long-term detriments to telomere fidelity, a hormesis-like adaptation to decreased energy availability, or measurement error and insufficient statistical power. Unraveling these trends will be a focus of future CALERIE™ analyses and trials.},
}

@article {pmid38503134,
year = {2024},
author = {Dos Santos, GA and Viana, NI and Pimenta, R and de Camargo, JA and Guimaraes, VR and Romão, P and Candido, P and Dos Santos, VG and Ghazarian, V and Reis, ST and Leite, KRM and Srougi, M},
title = {Upregulation of shelterin and CST genes and longer telomeres are associated with unfavorable prognostic characteristics in prostate cancer.},
journal = {Cancer genetics},
volume = {284-285},
number = {},
pages = {20-29},
doi = {10.1016/j.cancergen.2024.03.006},
pmid = {38503134},
issn = {2210-7762},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Search for new clinical biomarkers targets in prostate cancer (PC) is urgent. Telomeres might be one of these targets. Telomeres are the extremities of linear chromosomes, essential for genome stability and control of cell divisions. Telomere homeostasis relies on the proper functioning of shelterin and CST complexes. Telomeric dysfunction and abnormal expression of its components are reported in most cancers and are associated with PC. Despite this, there are only a few studies about the expression of the main telomere complexes and their relationship with PC progression. We aimed to evaluate the role of shelterin (POT1, TRF2, TPP1, TIN2, and RAP1) and CST (CTC1, STN1, and TEN1) genes and telomere length in the progression of PC.

METHODS: We evaluated genetic alterations of shelterin and CST by bioinformatics in samples of localized (n = 499) and metastatic castration-resistant PC (n = 444). We also analyzed the expression of the genes using TCGA (localized PC n = 497 and control n = 152) and experimental approaches, with surgical specimens (localized PC n = 81 and BPH n = 10) and metastatic cell lines (LNCaP, DU145, PC3 and PNT2 as control) by real-time PCR. Real-time PCR also determined the telomere length in the same experimental samples. All acquired data were associated with clinical parameters.

RESULTS: Genetic alterations are uncommon in PC, but POT1, TIN2, and TEN1 showed significantly more amplifications in the metastatic cancer. Except for CTC1 and TEN1, which are differentially expressed in localized PC samples, we did not detect an expression pattern relative to control and cell lines. Nevertheless, except for TEN1, the upregulation of all genes is associated with a worse prognosis in localized PC. We also found that increased telomere length is associated with disease aggressiveness in localized PC.

CONCLUSION: The upregulation of shelterin and CST genes creates an environment that favors telomere elongation, giving selective advantages for localized PC cells to progress to more aggressive stages of the disease.},
}

@article {pmid38499533,
year = {2024},
author = {Li, Y and Chen, J and Sun, T and Chen, Y and Fu, R and Liu, X and Xue, F and Liu, W and Ju, M and Dai, X and Dong, H and Li, H and Wang, W and Chi, Y and Zhang, L},
title = {Genetically determined telomere length and risk for haematologic diseases: results from large prospective cohorts and Mendelian Randomization analysis.},
journal = {Blood cancer journal},
volume = {14},
number = {1},
pages = {48},
pmid = {38499533},
issn = {2044-5385},
}

@article {pmid38498288,
year = {2024},
author = {Gürel, S and Pak, EN and Tek, NA},
title = {Aging Processes Are Affected by Energy Balance: Focused on the Effects of Nutrition and Physical Activity on Telomere Length.},
journal = {Current nutrition reports},
volume = {},
number = {},
pages = {},
pmid = {38498288},
issn = {2161-3311},
abstract = {PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The number and proportion of individuals aged 60 and over are increasing globally. The increase in the elderly population has important social and economic effects. Telomere length is an important marker for healthy aging. Here, we review the relevance between telomere length and energy balance by determining the effects of physical activity, nutrients, dietary patterns, and foods on healthy aging and telomere length with related studies.

RECENT FINDINGS: Evidence emphasizes the importance of telomere length and integrity for healthy aging. It also focuses on the importance of potential interventions such as physical activity and a healthy diet to improve this process. We suggest that ensuring energy balance with regular physical activity and healthy diets can contribute to the aging process by protecting telomere length. In addition, different methods in studies, short and inconsistent durations, different types of exercise, different diet patterns, and non-standard foods have led to conflicting results. More studies are needed to elucidate molecular-based mechanisms.},
}

@article {pmid38493659,
year = {2024},
author = {Zhang, Y and Zhu, Y and Zhang, X and Li, C and Fu, H and Lin, L and Yang, Z and Zhang, B},
title = {The association of sleep duration and leukocyte telomere length in middle-aged and young-old adults: A cross-sectional study of UK Biobank.},
journal = {Sleep medicine},
volume = {117},
number = {},
pages = {18-24},
doi = {10.1016/j.sleep.2024.02.043},
pmid = {38493659},
issn = {1878-5506},
abstract = {BACKGROUND: The relationships between sleep duration and aging-associated diseases are intricate. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biomarker of aging, while the association of sleep duration and LTL is unclear.

METHODS: The 310,091 study participants from UK Biobank were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) analysis was firstly performed to assess the nonlinear relationship between sleep duration and LTL. Sleep duration was then categorized into three groups: <7 h (short sleep duration), 7-8 h (reference group), and >8 h (long sleep duration) and multiple linear regression was applied to analyze the association of short sleep and long sleep duration with LTL. We further performed subgroup analyses stratified by sex, age, chronotype and snoring.

RESULTS: RCS showed an inverted J-shaped relationship between sleep duration and LTL. Compared with the reference group, the inverse association of long sleep duration and LTL was statistically significant in fully-adjusted model (P = 0.001). Subgroup analyses showed that this association was more apparent in people over 50 years (51-60 y: P = 0.002; >60 y: P = 0.005), in men (P = 0.022), and in people preferred evening chronotype (P = 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Compared with participants sleeping 7-8 h, those sleep longer than 8 h had shorter LTL in middle-aged and young-old adults. The negative association between long sleep duration and LTL was more apparent in older people, in men, and in people preferred evening chronotype.},
}