Genetic, parental and lifestyle factors influence telomere length

The average length of telomere repeats (TL) declines with age and is considered to be a marker of biological ageing. Here, we measured TL in six blood cell types from 1046 individuals using the clinically validated Flow-FISH method. We identified remarkable cell-type-specific variations in TL. Host genetics, environmental, parental and intrinsic factors such as sex, parental age, and smoking are associated to variations in TL. By analysing the genome-wide methylation patterns, we identified that the association of maternal, but not paternal, age to TL is mediated by epigenetics. Single-cell RNA-sequencing data for 62 participants revealed differential gene expression in T-cells. Genes negatively associated with TL were enriched for pathways related to translation and nonsense-mediated decay. Altogether, this study addresses cell-type-specific differences in telomere biology and its relation to cell-type-specific gene expression and highlights how perinatal factors play a role in determining TL, on top of genetics and lifestyle.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Andreu Sánchez, Sergio, Aubert, Geraldine, Ripoll Cladellas, Aida, Henkelman, Sandra, Zhernakova, Daria V, Sinha, Trishla, Kurilshikov, Alexander, Cénit, María Carmen, Jan Bonder, Marc, Franke, Lude, Wijmenga, Cisca, Fu, Jingyuan, van der Wijst, Monique G P, Melé, Marta, Lansdorp, Peter, Zhernakova, Alexandra
Format:	artículo biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Springer Nature 2022-06-09
Subjects:	Biological ageing, Telomere, Blood cells, Genome-wide methylation patterns, Epigenetics,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10261/274838
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