Telomere shortening occurs in Asian Indian Type 2 diabetic patients

• Published in: Diabetic medicine Vol. 22; no. 9; pp. 1151 - 1156
• Main Authors: Adaikalakoteswari, A., Balasubramanyam, M., Mohan, V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.09.2005; Blackwell
• Subjects: Aging - genetics; Asian Indians; Biological and medical sciences; Cholesterol - blood; diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - genetics; Diabetes. Impaired glucose tolerance; Endocrine pancreas. Apud cells (diseases); Endocrinopathies; Etiopathogenesis. Screening. Investigations. Target tissue resistance; Female; Humans; India - epidemiology; Insulin Resistance - genetics; Lipid Peroxidation - genetics; Lipoproteins, HDL - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - genetics; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Population Surveillance - methods; senescence; Sex Distribution; Telomere; Telomere - genetics; Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances - analysis; India; Endocrinopathy; Type 2 diabetes; Human; Oxidative stress; Senescence; Asiatic; Metabolic diseases; Indian; diabetes mellitus; Telomere; Asian Indians
• ISSN: 0742-3071; 1464-5491
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2005.01574.x

Aim  Telomere shortening has been reported in several diseases including atherosclerosis and Type 1 diabetes. Asian Indians have an increased predilection for Type 2 diabetes and premature coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to determine whether telomeric shortening occurs in Asian Indian Type 2 diabetic patients. Methods  Using Southern‐blot analysis we determined mean terminal restriction fragment (TRF) length, a measure of average telomere size, in leucocyte DNA. Type 2 diabetic patients without any diabetes‐related complications (n = 40) and age‐ and sex‐matched control non‐diabetic subjects (n = 40) were selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES). Plasma level of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation, was measured by TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) using a fluorescence method. Results  Mean (± SE) TRF lengths of the Type 2 diabetic patients (6.01 ± 0.2 kb) were significantly shorter than those of the control subjects (9.11 ± 0.6 kb) (P = 0.0001). Among the biochemical parameters, only levels of TBARS showed a negative correlation with shortened telomeres in the diabetic subjects (r = −0.36; P = 0.02). However, telomere lengths were negatively correlated with insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) (r = −0.4; P = 0.01) and age (r = −0.3; P = 0.058) and positively correlated with HDL levels (r = 0.4; P = 0.01) in the control subjects. Multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis revealed diabetes to be significantly (P < 0.0001) associated with shortening of TRF lengths. Conclusions  Telomere shortening occurs in Asian Indian Type 2 diabetic patients.