Lipoprotein Particle Profiles Associated with Telomere Length and Telomerase Complex Components

Nutrients. 2023 Jun 3;15(11):2624. doi: 10.3390/nu15112624.

Abstract

Telomere length (TL) is a well-known marker of age-related diseases. Oxidative stress and inflammation increase the rate of telomere shortening, triggering cellular senescence. Although lipoproteins could have anti-inflammatory and proinflammatory functional properties, the relationship between lipoprotein particles with TL and telomerase activity-related genes has not been investigated much. In this study, we assessed the associations of lipoprotein subfractions with telomere length, TERT, and WRAP53 expression in a total of 54 pre-diabetic subjects from the EPIRDEM study. We regressed TL, TERT, and WRAP53 on 12 lipoprotein subclasses, employing a Gaussian linear regression method with Lasso penalty to determine a lipoprotein profile associated with telomere-related parameters. The covariates included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), dyslipidemia, statin consumption, and physical activity leisure time. We identified a lipoprotein profile composed of four lipoprotein subfractions associated with TL (Pearson r = 0.347, p-value = 0.010), two lipoprotein subfractions associated with TERT expression (Pearson r = 0.316, p-value = 0.020), and five lipoprotein subfractions associated with WRAP53 expression (Pearson r = 0.379, p-value =0.005). After adjusting for known confounding factors, most lipoprotein profiles maintained the association with TL, TERT, and WRAP53. Overall, medium and small-sized HDL particles were associated with shorter telomeres and lower expression of TERT and WRAP53. Large HDL particles were associated with longer telomere and lower expression of WRAP53, but not with TERT. Our results suggest that the lipoprotein profiles are associated with telomere length, TERT, and WRAP53 expression and should be considered when assessing the risk of chronic diseases.

Keywords: TERT; WRAP53; lipoprotein subclasses; telomerase complex components; telomere length.

MeSH terms

  • Cellular Senescence / genetics
  • Humans
  • Oxidative Stress
  • Telomerase* / metabolism
  • Telomere / metabolism
  • Telomere Shortening

Substances

  • Telomerase

Grants and funding

The clinical trial was funded by the Western Pistachio Association, now known as American Pistachio Growers (U.S.), and Paramount Farms. None of the funding sources played a role in the design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. L.G.-T. received a pre-doctoral fellowship from the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Department of Health, Barcelona, Spain (grant number SLT01720000047); C.P. is a recipient of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III Miguel Servet fellowship, Madrid, Spain (grant number CP 19/00189); M.R. received a fellowship from the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Department of Universities, Barcelona, Spain (grant number 2021 FI_B 00657); and M.B. received the ICREA Academy 2023 Distinction from the Autonomous Government of Catalonia.