1. Peripheral blood leucocyte telomere length is associated with progression of interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis
- Author
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Liu, Shuo, Chung, Melody P, Ley, Brett, French, Sarah, Elicker, Brett M, Fiorentino, David F, Chung, Lorinda S, Boin, Francesco, and Wolters, Paul J
- Subjects
Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Clinical Sciences ,Lung ,Scleroderma ,Rare Diseases ,Clinical Research ,Autoimmune Disease ,4.1 Discovery and preclinical testing of markers and technologies ,Detection ,screening and diagnosis ,Aetiology ,2.1 Biological and endogenous factors ,Inflammatory and immune system ,Respiratory ,Humans ,Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ,Lung Diseases ,Interstitial ,Retrospective Studies ,Scleroderma ,Systemic ,Telomere ,systemic disease and lungs ,interstitial fibrosis ,rare lung diseases ,connective tissue disease associated lung disease ,Respiratory System ,Cardiovascular medicine and haematology ,Clinical sciences - Abstract
BackgroundPeripheral blood leucocyte telomere length (PBL-TL) is associated with outcomes in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Whether PBL-TL is associated with progression of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) is unknown.MethodsA retrospective observational cohort study was performed using prospectively collected data from 213 patients with SSc followed at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Scleroderma Center. PBL-TL was measured by quantitative PCR of DNA isolated from peripheral blood. Associations between PBL-TL and pulmonary function test trends in patients with SSc-ILD were assessed by longitudinal analysis using Generalised Linear Mixed Models. Findings were validated in a cohort of 61 patients with SSc-ILD enrolled in the Stanford University Scleroderma Center database.ResultsPatients with UCSF SSc with ILD were found to have shorter PBL-TL compared with those without ILD (6554±671 base pairs (bp) vs 6782±698 bp, p=0.01). Shorter PBL-TL was associated with the presence of ILD (adjusted OR 2.1 per 1000 bp TL decrease, 95% CI [1.25 to 3.70], p=0.006). PBL-TL was shorter in patients with SSc-ILD lacking SSc-specific autoantibodies compared with seropositive subjects (6237±647 bp vs 6651±653 bp, p=0.004). Shorter PBL-TL was associated with increased risk for lung function deterioration with an average of 67 mL greater loss in per year for every 1000 bp decrease in PBL-TL in the combined SSc-ILD cohorts (longitudinal analysis, adjusted model: 95% CI -104 mL to -33 mL, p
- Published
- 2021