Science Library
Peripheral blood telomere content is greater in patients with endometriosis than in controls.
Published: 03/27/2014, Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)
Unlabelled
The etiology of endometriosis remains poorly understood but circulating stem cells may contribute. Telomeres shorten with cell divisions and age. Stem cells attempt to compensate for telomere attrition through the action of telomerase. Since circulating stem cells may contribute to endometriosis, we compared telomere content in lymphocytes of patients with and without endometriosis.
Methods
Observational study comparing peripheral lymphocytes telomere content, measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, in patients with (n = 86) and without endometriosis (n = 21).
Findings
Patients with endometriosis had longer telomeres than that of matched, endometriosis-free controls (telomere to single copy gene ratio [T/S ratio] of 1.62 vs 1.34, respectively, P = .00002). Patients with endometriosis were 8.1-fold more likely to have long telomeres. (odds ratio = 8.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.28-51.57, P = .0264).
Interpretation
Longer telomeres could be consistent with a stem cell origin of endometriosis.
Sign-Up For Science Library Updates
Copyright © 2017 Telomere Science Library. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks used are the properties of their respective owners.
This website is funded by a grant from T.A. Sciences®
