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Telomere length changes in patients with aplastic anaemia
Author(s) -
Lee JeJung,
Kook Hoon,
Chung IkJoo,
Na JeungA,
Park MooRim,
Hwang TaiJu,
Kwak JaeYong,
Sohn SangKyun,
Kim HyeoungJoon
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2141.2001.02669.x
Subject(s) - medicine , immunosuppression , gastroenterology , mean corpuscular volume , aplastic anemia , telomere , neutropenia , haematopoiesis , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , immunology , stem cell , bone marrow , chemotherapy , biology , hemoglobin , genetics , dna , biochemistry , in vitro
To investigate telomere changes in patients with aplastic anaemia (AA) and clinical factors influencing the telomere dynamics, telomere length (TL) was measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells using Southern blot analysis of 42 patients with AA and 39 healthy normal controls. Nineteen patients received supportive treatment only, while the remaining 23 patients received immunosuppressive therapy with anti‐thymocyte globulin or anti‐lymphocyte globulin ± cyclosporin A. In AA patients, TL was on average 1·41 kb shorter than that of age‐matched normal controls ( P < 0·001). In patients treated with immunosuppression, the mean TL of non‐responders was significantly shorter than that of age‐matched normal controls ( P < 0·001), while no difference in TL was detected in responders compared with controls. Positive correlation was observed between the extent of telomere shortening, the severity of neutropenia ( P = 0·05) and the degree of mean corpuscular volume elevation ( P = 0·005) at the time of the study. However, there was no correlation with time elapsed since diagnosis ( P = 0·214). These findings suggest that haematopoietic stem cells in patients with AA rapidly lose TL at the onset of the disease. The TL shortening may reflect the severity of impairment of haematopoiesis.