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The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Advance Access published online on May 12, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, doi:10.1093/gerona/glp065
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

No Association Between Telomere Length and Blood Cell Counts in Elderly Individuals

Luigina Mollica1,2,3, Isabelle Fleury3, Claude Belisle1, Sylvie Provost1, Denis-Claude Roy1,2,3 and Lambert Busque1,2,3

1 Research Centre
2 Departement of Hematology, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Canada
3 University of Montreal, Canada

Address correspondence to Lambert Busque, MD, FRCPC, Department of Hematology, Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, 5415 de l’Assomption Boulevard, Montreal, Canada H1T 2M4. Email: lbusque.hmr{at}ssss.gouv.qc.ca


  Abstract

Background: Telomeres play a crucial role in maintaining the physical integrity of chromosomes. Telomere length (TL) is severely reduced in individuals with dyskeratosis congenita and a number of other bone marrow failure syndromes. The TL of healthy individuals is highly variable, but shortens with age. It is presently unclear if variations in TL observed in normal aging individuals affect significantly their hematopoietic reserve.

Method: We studied the correlation between leukocyte age-adjusted TL (aTL) and blood cell parameters (total leukocytes, neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, lymphocytes, hemoglobin, and platelets) in a large cohort (n = 717) of women aged 38–100 years.

Result: We did not find any significant correlation between aTL and blood counts.

Conclusion: Our data suggest that the aTL of aging individuals is not significantly predictive of their hematopoietic reserve, which implies that TL measurement may not be clinically useful in the selection of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation donors.

Keywords Telomere; Blood counts; Ageing

Received: December 28, 2008; Accepted: April 18, 2009

Decision Editor: Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD


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