Lymphocytes of Type 2 Diabetic Women Carry a High Load of Stable Chromosomal Aberrations
A Novel Risk Factor for Disease-Related Early Death
- Bernhard O. Boehm1,
- Peter Möller2,
- Josef Högel3,
- Bernhard R. Winkelmann4,
- Wilfried Renner5,
- Silke Rosinger1,
- Ursula Seelhorst6,
- Britta Wellnitz6,
- Winfried März5,
- Julia Melzner2 and
- Silke Brüderlein2
- 1Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Graduate School Molecular Endocrinology and Diabetes, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- 2Institute of Pathology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- 3Institute of Human Genetics, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
- 4Cardiology Group, Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen, Germany
- 5Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria
- 6Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health Study, Freiburg, Germany
- Corresponding author: Silke Brüderlein, silke.bruederlein{at}uniklinik-ulm.de
Abstract
OBJECTIVE—Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of death in women. Oxidative stress due to chronic hyperglycemia leads to the generation of reactive oxygen species and loss of chromosomal integrity. To clarify whether diabetes is a premature aging syndrome, we determined telomere erosion dynamics and occurrence of structural chromosomal aberrations in women of the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) Study.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Telomere lengths and karyotypes were examined in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Regarding these parameters, surviving and deceased type 2 diabetic women of the LURIC study were compared with nondiabetic LURIC women with or without coronary heart disease and with healthy female control subjects.
RESULTS—Significantly enhanced telomere attrition was seen in all LURIC subjects compared with healthy control subjects. Although the average telomere-length loss is equivalent to well >10 years of healthy aging, telomere erosion was not associated with outcome within the LURIC cohort. However, strikingly high numbers of stable chromosomal aberrations were found in type 2 diabetic women but not in LURIC disease control subjects or in healthy individuals. Furthermore, within the younger age- groups, deceased type 2 diabetes patients had significantly more marker chromosomes than the surviving type 2 diabetic patients.
CONCLUSIONS—All women at high risk for cardiovascular death have accelerated telomere erosion, not caused by type 2 diabetes per se but likely linked to other risk factors, including dyslipidemia. By contrast, the occurrence of marker chromosomes is associated with type 2 diabetes and is a novel risk factor for type 2 diabetes–related early death.
Footnotes
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Published ahead of print at http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org on 23 July 2008.
B.O.B. and P.M. contributed equally to this work.
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- Accepted July 17, 2008.
- Received February 25, 2008.
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