Association of leukocyte telomere attrition in coronary artery disease in Pakistani population: A case-control study with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Coronary arteries disease (CAD) is one of the primary causes of mortality worldwide. Genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors have been hypothesized in the pathogenesis of CAD. Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) has been proposed as a potential biomarker for early detection of atherosclerosis. Telomere is the DNA-Protein structure that maintains stability and integrity of chromosomes and is associated with the aging-related cellular mechanisms. This study is designed to investigate the association of LTL with CAD pathogenesis.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: This prospective case-control study included 100 patients and 100 control individuals. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood samples, and LTL was measured using real-time PCR. Data were normalized with single copy gene and presented as relative telomere length T/S ratio. Comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted to ascertain the pivotal role of telomere length in CAD pathology across multiple populations.

RESULTS

Our results showed shorter telomere length in CAD patients as compared to control. The correlation analysis revealed a significant (P-value <0.01) negative correlation between telomere length with basal metabolic index (BMI), total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and a positive correlation with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Meta-analysis results indicated a significantly shorter telomere length in the Asian population and a non-significant shorter telomere length in other populations. Receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.814 with cut-off value of 0.691 exhibited sensitivity of 72.2%, and specificity of 79.1%, for the diagnosis of CAD.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, LTL is associated with the onset of CAD and could be used as a diagnostic predictor to screen individuals with CAD.