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Persistent Herpesvirus Infections and Telomere Attrition Over 3 Years in the Whitehall II Cohort

Dowd, JB; Bosch, JA; Steptoe, A; Jayabalasingham, B; Lin, J; Yolken, R; Aiello, AE; (2017) Persistent Herpesvirus Infections and Telomere Attrition Over 3 Years in the Whitehall II Cohort. Journal of Infectious Diseases , 216 (5) pp. 565-572. 10.1093/infdis/jix255. Green open access

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Abstract

The determinants of telomere attrition, a potential marker of cellular aging, are not well understood. Persistent herpesvirus infections including cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection may be particularly important for telomere dynamics via mechanisms such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and their impact on peripheral blood lymphocyte composition. This study examined the association of 4 human herpesviruses (CMV, herpes simplex virus type 1, human herpesvirus type 6, and Epstein-Barr virus) with change in leukocyte telomere length (LTL) over 3 years in 400 healthy individuals (aged 53–76 years) from the Whitehall II cohort. CMV, herpes simplex virus type 1, and human herpesvirus 6 infection were independently associated with greater 3-year LTL attrition, with no association found for Epstein-Barr virus. The magnitudes of these associations were large, for example, the equivalent of almost 12 years of chronological age for those CMV seropositive. Seropositivity to more herpesviruses was additively associated with greater LTL attrition (3 herpesviruses vs none, β = −0.07 and P = .02; 4 infections vs none, β = −0.14 and P < .001). Higher immunoglobulin G antibody levels among those seropositive to CMV were also associated with shorter LTL at follow-up. These associations were robust to adjustment for age, sex, employment grade, body mass index, and smoking status. These results suggest that exposure to infectious agents should be an important consideration in future studies of telomere dynamics.

Type: Article
Title: Persistent Herpesvirus Infections and Telomere Attrition Over 3 Years in the Whitehall II Cohort
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jix255
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jix255
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Telomeres, Herpes Simplex Virus, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr Virus, Whitehall Ii, Cytomegalovirus-Specific CD4(+), Life-Style Factors, T-Cell Response, Antibody-Levels, Older-Adults, Length, Stress, Cortisol, Age, Immunosenescence
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Behavioural Science and Health
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1576142
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