Year: 2020
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) might be causal in cardiovascular disease and major cancers. To elucidate the roles of genetics and geography in LTL variability across humans, we compared LTL measured in 1295 sub-Saharan Africans (SSAs) with 559 African-Americans (AAms) and 2464 European-Americans (EAms). LTL differed significantly across SSAs (P = 0.003), with the San from Botswana (with the oldest genomic ancestry) having the longest LTL and populations from Ethiopia having the shortest LTL. SSAs had significantly longer LTL than AAms [P = 6.5(e-16)] whose LTL was significantly longer than EAms [P = 2.5(e-7)]. Genetic variation in SSAs explained 52% of LTL variance versus 27% in AAms and 34% in EAms. Adjustment for genetic variation removed the LTL differences among SSAs. LTL genetic variation among SSAs, with the longest LTL in the San, supports the hypothesis that longer LTL was ancestral in humans. Identifying factors driving LTL variation in Africa may have important ramifications for LTL-associated diseases.
Source: Human Molecular Genetics
DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddaa187
Authors: Steven C Hunt, Matthew E B Hansen, Simon Verhulst, Michael A McQuillan, William Beggs, Tsung-Po Lai, Gaonyadiwe G Mokone, Sununguko Wata Mpoloka, Dawit Wolde Meskel, Gurja Belay, Thomas B Nyambo, Christian C Abnet, Meredith Yeager, Stephen J Chanock, Michael A Province, Scott M Williams, Abraham Aviv, Sarah A Tishkoff
Institutions: Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, University of Groningen, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, University of Botswana, Addis Ababa University, Kampala International University, Kampala International University in Tanzania, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, Case Western Reserve University
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,390
Funders: Qatar Foundation, Biomedical Research Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1430484903, Determinants of Leukocyte Telomere Length at Birth, G3138332842, Integrative Genomic Analyses of Human Evolution and Adaptation in Africa, G424607761, G4694568028, G6404751656, G7244042447, G9000080842, G9000167965, Translational Research Training Program in Environmental Health Sciences, Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology, G947847320
OpenAlex ID: W3081477523