Telomere length comparison between oral cells and blood cells among neonates

Özet

Telomere length, measured from blood cells, is commonly used as the standardtelomere length of the whole body. The relationship between blood telomerelength and oral telomere length is still unclear, especially among neonates. Inthis study, we measured blood telomere length as well as cheek cells telomerelength to find out the overall telomere synchronization in neonates. Childrenaged 1 month or younger were included in this study. Blood and cheek cells werecollected by heel stick method and nylon brush accordingly. Telomere lengthwas measured by Southern blotting. A strong telomere length correlation(0.77, p<0.001) existed between oral and blood cells which showing telomerelength synchronization among different tissue types. Mean telomere lengthand length variability were significantly higher (t=3.73, p=0.0004) in oralcells. Longer telomere among oral cells can be justified by progenitor cellpool theory. The cause of high telomere length variability in the oral sourceis not clear although the presence of leukocytes among cheek cells cannot beexcluded. Therefore, for telomere length measurement purpose blood shouldbe given preference over the oral source.