Exploring telomere length and environmental factors in Alzheimer’s disease: insights from molecular genetics and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) | ||
| Egyptian Pharmaceutical Journal | ||
| Articles in Press, Corrected Proof, Available Online from 25 March 2025 PDF (2.25 M) | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/epj.2025.419122 | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative illness marked by a decline in cognitive abilities, including memory, logic, and thinking. Telomeres, which can reach lengths of up to 15 000 base pairs in humans, are repetitive DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes. One indicator of age-related disorders is the progressive reduction of telomere length (TL) in healthy human body cells. The regulation of TL is influenced by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental influences. Objective A comparison between real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and quantitative-fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH) methods for determining TL and evaluating environmental factors contributing to the onset of AD. Patients and methods In all, 10 controls and 30 AD patients participated in this study. Blood samples from all participants were collected, and TL was measured using Q-FISH and RT-PCR techniques. Results and conclusion Our findings showed a significant variation in TL between patients and controls, showing a P value of 0.036. The relationship between the T/S ratio (telomere repeat copy number to single-copy gene copy number), as measured by RT-PCR, was analyzed. TL (kb) was assessed by Q-FISH, and the analysis was performed using linear regression. The correlation coefficient (r2) for the association between telomere repeat copy number to single-copy gene copy number (T/S) ratio and TL (kb) was found to be r2=0.266 with a P value of 0.004. We concluded that a significant association exists between AD and the reduction in TL. Environmental factors, such as diabetes and hypertension, also impact TL in AD. Moreover, RT-PCR is more precise and easier to use than Q-FISH for evaluating TL | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Alzheimer’; s disease; diabetes; hypertension; quantitative-fluorescence in situ hybridization; real-time PCR; telomere length | ||
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