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The Nexus Between Telomere Length and Lymphocyte Count in Seniors Hospitalized With COVID-19.
Benetos, Athanase; Lai, Tsung-Po; Toupance, Simon; Labat, Carlos; Verhulst, Simon; Gautier, Sylvie; Ungeheuer, Marie-Noelle; Perret-Guillaume, Christine; Levy, Daniel; Susser, Ezra; Aviv, Abraham.
  • Benetos A; Université de Lorraine, Inserm, DCAC, Nancy, France.
  • Lai TP; Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Pôle "Maladies du Vieillissement, Gérontologie et Soins Palliatifs," France.
  • Toupance S; Center of Human Development and Aging, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, USA.
  • Labat C; Université de Lorraine, Inserm, DCAC, Nancy, France.
  • Verhulst S; Université de Lorraine, Inserm, DCAC, Nancy, France.
  • Gautier S; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
  • Ungeheuer MN; Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Pôle "Maladies du Vieillissement, Gérontologie et Soins Palliatifs," France.
  • Perret-Guillaume C; Institut Pasteur, Clinical Investigation and Access to Bioresources Department, Paris, France.
  • Levy D; Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Pôle "Maladies du Vieillissement, Gérontologie et Soins Palliatifs," France.
  • Susser E; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study, Massachusetts, USA.
  • Aviv A; Population Research Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci ; 76(8): e97-e101, 2021 07 13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1060193
ABSTRACT
Profound T-cell lymphopenia is the hallmark of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). T-cell proliferation is telomere length (TL) dependent and telomeres shorten with age. Older COVID-19 patients, we hypothesize, are, therefore, at a higher risk of having TL-dependent lymphopenia. We measured TL by the novel Telomere Shortest Length Assay (TeSLA), and by Southern blotting (SB) of the terminal restriction fragments in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 17 COVID-19 and 21 non-COVID-19 patients, aged 87 ± 8 (mean ± SD) and 87 ± 9 years, respectively. TeSLA tallies and measures single telomeres, including short telomeres undetected by SB. Such telomeres are relevant to TL-mediated biological processes, including cell viability and senescence. TeSLA yields 2 key metrics the proportions of telomeres with different lengths (expressed in %) and their mean (TeSLA mTL), (expressed in kb). Lymphocyte count (109/L) was 0.91 ± 0.42 in COVID-19 patients and 1.50 ± 0.50 in non-COVID-19 patients (p < .001). In COVID-19 patients, but not in non-COVID-19 patients, lymphocyte count was inversely correlated with the proportion of telomeres shorter than 2 kb (p = .005) and positively correlated with TeSLA mTL (p = .03). Lymphocyte count was not significantly correlated with SB mTL in either COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 patients. We propose that compromised TL-dependent T-cell proliferative response, driven by short telomere in the TL distribution, contributes to COVID-19 lymphopenia among old adults. We infer that infection with SARS-CoV-2 uncovers the limits of the TL reserves of older persons. Clinical Trials Registration Number NCT04325646.
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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Lymphocyte Count / Telomere Shortening / COVID-19 / Hospitalization / Lymphopenia Type of study: Prognostic study Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Journal subject: Geriatrics Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Gerona

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Lymphocyte Count / Telomere Shortening / COVID-19 / Hospitalization / Lymphopenia Type of study: Prognostic study Limits: Humans Language: English Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Journal subject: Geriatrics Year: 2021 Document Type: Article Affiliation country: Gerona