Can Telomere Shortening in Human Peripheral Blood Leukocytes Serve as a Disease Biomarker of Friedreich's Ataxia?

Abstract Enhanced oxidative stress and inflammation contribute to telomere erosion. Friedreich's ataxia is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a reduction in frataxin expression that results in mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage. Furthermore, frataxin deficiency induces a strong activation of inflammatory genes and neuronal death. We investigated telomere length (TL) in peripheral blood leukocytes of 37 patients with Friedreich's ataxia and 36 controls. We noted a significant telomere shortening in patients with Friedreich's ataxia compared to healthy controls (p=0.03). We also found a correlation between TL and disease duration (p=0.001). Our observations lead to the hypothesis that the TL of human peripheral blood leukocytes may serve as a biomarker of Friedreich's ataxia that could be used as an outcome measure in clinical trials. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 18, 1303-1306.