Determinants of telomere length across human tissues

Kathryn Demanelis; Farzana Jasmine; Lin S. Chen; Meytal Chernoff; Lin Tong; Dayana Delgado; Chenan Zhang; Justin Shinkle; Mekala Sabarinathan; Hannah Lin; Eduardo Ramirez; Meritxell Oliva; Sarah Kim-Hellmuth; Barbara E. Stranger; Tsung Po Lai; Abraham Aviv; Kristin G. Ardlie; François Aguet; Habibul Ahsan; Jennifer A. Doherty; Muhammad G. Kibriya; Brandon L. Pierce

doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876

Determinants of telomere length across human tissues

Kathryn Demanelis, Farzana Jasmine, Lin S. Chen, Meytal Chernoff, Lin Tong, Dayana Delgado, Chenan Zhang, Justin Shinkle, Mekala Sabarinathan, Hannah Lin, Eduardo Ramirez, Meritxell Oliva, Sarah Kim-Hellmuth, Barbara E. Stranger, Tsung Po Lai, Abraham Aviv, Kristin G. Ardlie, François Aguet, Habibul Ahsan, Jennifer A. DohertyMuhammad G. Kibriya, Brandon L. Pierce^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Pharmacology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

312 Scopus citations

Abstract

Telomere shortening is a hallmark of aging. Telomere length (TL) in blood cells has been studied extensively as a biomarker of human aging and disease; however, little is known regarding variability in TL in nonblood, disease-relevant tissue types. Here, we characterize variability in TLs from 6391 tissue samples, representing >20 tissue types and 952 individuals from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. We describe differences across tissue types, positive correlation among tissue types, and associations with age and ancestry. We show that genetic variation affects TL in multiple tissue types and that TL may mediate the effect of age on gene expression. Our results provide the foundational knowledge regarding TL in healthy tissues that is needed to interpret epidemiological studies of TL and human health.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	A69
Journal	Science
Volume	369
Issue number	6509
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876
State	Published - Sep 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876

Cite this

Demanelis, K., Jasmine, F., Chen, L. S., Chernoff, M., Tong, L., Delgado, D., Zhang, C., Shinkle, J., Sabarinathan, M., Lin, H., Ramirez, E., Oliva, M., Kim-Hellmuth, S., Stranger, B. E., Lai, T. P., Aviv, A., Ardlie, K. G., Aguet, F., Ahsan, H., ... Pierce, B. L. (2020). Determinants of telomere length across human tissues. Science, 369(6509), Article A69. https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876

@article{61a349ae7d15438bb6d54bf70e6e0eb5,

title = "Determinants of telomere length across human tissues",

abstract = "Telomere shortening is a hallmark of aging. Telomere length (TL) in blood cells has been studied extensively as a biomarker of human aging and disease; however, little is known regarding variability in TL in nonblood, disease-relevant tissue types. Here, we characterize variability in TLs from 6391 tissue samples, representing >20 tissue types and 952 individuals from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. We describe differences across tissue types, positive correlation among tissue types, and associations with age and ancestry. We show that genetic variation affects TL in multiple tissue types and that TL may mediate the effect of age on gene expression. Our results provide the foundational knowledge regarding TL in healthy tissues that is needed to interpret epidemiological studies of TL and human health.",

author = "Kathryn Demanelis and Farzana Jasmine and Chen, {Lin S.} and Meytal Chernoff and Lin Tong and Dayana Delgado and Chenan Zhang and Justin Shinkle and Mekala Sabarinathan and Hannah Lin and Eduardo Ramirez and Meritxell Oliva and Sarah Kim-Hellmuth and Stranger, {Barbara E.} and Lai, {Tsung Po} and Abraham Aviv and Ardlie, {Kristin G.} and Fran{\c c}ois Aguet and Habibul Ahsan and Doherty, {Jennifer A.} and Kibriya, {Muhammad G.} and Pierce, {Brandon L.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors.",

year = "2020",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "369",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "6509",

}

Demanelis, K, Jasmine, F, Chen, LS, Chernoff, M, Tong, L, Delgado, D, Zhang, C, Shinkle, J, Sabarinathan, M, Lin, H, Ramirez, E, Oliva, M, Kim-Hellmuth, S, Stranger, BE, Lai, TP, Aviv, A, Ardlie, KG, Aguet, F, Ahsan, H, Doherty, JA, Kibriya, MG & Pierce, BL 2020, 'Determinants of telomere length across human tissues', Science, vol. 369, no. 6509, A69. https://doi.org/10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876

TY - JOUR

T1 - Determinants of telomere length across human tissues

AU - Demanelis, Kathryn

AU - Jasmine, Farzana

AU - Chen, Lin S.

AU - Chernoff, Meytal

AU - Tong, Lin

AU - Delgado, Dayana

AU - Zhang, Chenan

AU - Shinkle, Justin

AU - Sabarinathan, Mekala

AU - Lin, Hannah

AU - Ramirez, Eduardo

AU - Oliva, Meritxell

AU - Kim-Hellmuth, Sarah

AU - Stranger, Barbara E.

AU - Lai, Tsung Po

AU - Aviv, Abraham

AU - Ardlie, Kristin G.

AU - Aguet, François

AU - Ahsan, Habibul

AU - Doherty, Jennifer A.

AU - Kibriya, Muhammad G.

AU - Pierce, Brandon L.

PY - 2020/9

Y1 - 2020/9

N2 - Telomere shortening is a hallmark of aging. Telomere length (TL) in blood cells has been studied extensively as a biomarker of human aging and disease; however, little is known regarding variability in TL in nonblood, disease-relevant tissue types. Here, we characterize variability in TLs from 6391 tissue samples, representing >20 tissue types and 952 individuals from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. We describe differences across tissue types, positive correlation among tissue types, and associations with age and ancestry. We show that genetic variation affects TL in multiple tissue types and that TL may mediate the effect of age on gene expression. Our results provide the foundational knowledge regarding TL in healthy tissues that is needed to interpret epidemiological studies of TL and human health.

AB - Telomere shortening is a hallmark of aging. Telomere length (TL) in blood cells has been studied extensively as a biomarker of human aging and disease; however, little is known regarding variability in TL in nonblood, disease-relevant tissue types. Here, we characterize variability in TLs from 6391 tissue samples, representing >20 tissue types and 952 individuals from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project. We describe differences across tissue types, positive correlation among tissue types, and associations with age and ancestry. We show that genetic variation affects TL in multiple tissue types and that TL may mediate the effect of age on gene expression. Our results provide the foundational knowledge regarding TL in healthy tissues that is needed to interpret epidemiological studies of TL and human health.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090819073&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85090819073&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876

DO - 10.1126/SCIENCE.AAZ6876

M3 - Article

C2 - 32913074

AN - SCOPUS:85090819073

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 369

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6509

M1 - A69

ER -

Determinants of telomere length across human tissues

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this