Telomere length as a predictor of emotional processing in the brain

Powell, Timothy R.; Jong, Simone de; Breen, Gerome; Lewis, Cathryn M.; Dima, Danai

doi:10.1002/hbm.24487

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…This result supports the hypothesis that TL might represent a marker of hippocampal vulnerability, as previously suggested [62]. A subsequent study further explored the association between peripheral TL and functional brain activation and connectivity, in a sample comprising patients with BD and first-degree relatives, as well as healthy volunteers [63]. TL was positively associated with increased face-related activation in the amygdala, during a task in which participants were asked to identify facial emotions.…”

Section: Telomeres and Mood Disorderssupporting

confidence: 83%

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Mood Disorders, Accelerated Aging, and Inflammation: Is the Link Hidden in Telomeres?

Squassina

Pisanu

Vanni

2019

Cells

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Mood disorders are associated with an increased risk of aging-related diseases, which greatly contribute to the excess morbidity and mortality observed in affected individuals. Clinical and molecular findings also suggest that mood disorders might be characterized by a permanent state of low-grade inflammation. At the cellular level, aging translates into telomeres shortening. Intriguingly, inflammation and telomere shortening show a bidirectional association: a pro-inflammatory state seems to contribute to aging and telomere dysfunction, and telomere attrition is able to induce low-grade inflammation. Several independent studies have reported shorter telomere length and increased levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines in mood disorders, suggesting a complex interplay between altered inflammatory–immune responses and telomere dynamics in the etiopathogenesis of these disorders. In this review, we critically discuss studies investigating the role of telomere attrition and inflammation in the pathogenesis and course of mood disorders, and in pharmacological treatments with psychotropic medications.

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Section: Telomeres and Mood Disorderssupporting

confidence: 83%

“…This association was observed, regardless of the diagnosis status. Furthermore, a polygenic risk score for TL was positively associated with medial prefrontal cortex activation [63]. These results support the existence of a link between TL and emotional brain activity.…”

Section: Telomeres and Mood Disordersmentioning

confidence: 64%

Mood Disorders, Accelerated Aging, and Inflammation: Is the Link Hidden in Telomeres?

Squassina

Pisanu

Vanni

2019

Cells

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“…A recent experimental study found that longer buccal telomere length was associated with activation in the amygdala and cuneus region of the brain related to an emotional cue, suggesting that telomere length predicts emotional brain activity and connectivity ( 41 ). Longer telomere length could be a crude proxy for a greater potential for learning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longer Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Stronger Response to a Workplace Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Sales Ban: An Exploratory Study

Wojcicki

Lustig

Jacobs

et al. 2021

Current Developments in Nutrition

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Background Shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with increased risk for a number of metabolic diseases including insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Shorter LTL is also associated with stress reactivity suggestive of a possible role for LTL to predict response to behavioral interventions. However, few studies have evaluated how interventions, such as weight loss or dietary changes, are associated with LTL changes or whether LTL can predict behavioral responses to interventions. Objective We evaluated metabolic changes in relation to LTL changes and LTL at baseline in a cohort of at-risk adults in response a 10-month workplace-based sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) intervention. Methods At baseline, metabolic health and LTL measurements were assessed through standard blood draws on 212 participants. Multivariable linear regression models were used to assess changes in anthropometrics, SSB consumption and 13 blood-based metabolic risk factors, in relation to LTL at baseline and changes in LTL. Results Longer LTL at baseline was associated with younger age (Beta = −0.49; P < 0.01) and female gender (P = 0.01). Longer LTL at baseline was also associated with decreases in SSB consumption over the 6-month follow-up period (Beta = −29.67, P = 0.04). Slower LTL attrition rates were associated with decreases in waist circumference (Beta = −0.27; P = 0.03) and decreases in HDL-C (Beta = −0.20; P = 0.05), and ApoA1 (Beta = −0.09; P = 0.01). Conclusions Longer LTL at baseline predicted a favorable overall response to a behavioral intervention - decreases in SSB consumption. Abdominal adiposity losses paralleled slower declines in LTL suggestive of over health benefits, but we found differences between metabolic changes and LTL at baseline compared with LTL attrition rates. Longer LTL may be a proxy marker of a positive behavioral response.

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“…In the context of psychiatry, meta-analyses reveal that, in general, psychiatric disorder patients exhibit shorter leukocyte telomere lengths relative to unaffected individuals of equivalent ages, which could contribute to the increased burden of age-related disease [21][22][23][24]. In addition to shorter telomere lengths, psychiatric disorder patients frequently exhibit neurological differences such as smaller hippocampi [25][26][27], and some studies have suggested a relationship between shortened telomere length and psychiatric disorder neuropathology [28][29][30][31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Telomere length and human hippocampal neurogenesis

Palmos

Duarte

Smeeth

et al. 2020

Neuropsychopharmacol.

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Short telomere length is a risk factor for age-related disease, but it is also associated with reduced hippocampal volumes, age-related cognitive decline and psychiatric disorder risk. The current study explored whether telomere shortening might have an influence on cognitive function and psychiatric disorder pathophysiology, via its hypothesised effects on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. We modelled telomere shortening in human hippocampal progenitor cells in vitro using a serial passaging protocol that mimics the end-replication problem. Serially passaged progenitors demonstrated shorter telomeres (P ≤ 0.05), and reduced rates of cell proliferation (P ≤ 0.001), with no changes in the ability of cells to differentiate into neurons or glia. RNA-sequencing and gene-set enrichment analyses revealed an effect of cell ageing on gene networks related to neurogenesis, telomere maintenance, cell senescence and cytokine production. Downregulated transcripts in our model showed a significant overlap with genes regulating cognitive function (P ≤ 1 × 10−5), and risk for schizophrenia (P ≤ 1 × 10−10) and bipolar disorder (P ≤ 0.005). Collectively, our results suggest that telomere shortening could represent a mechanism that moderates the proliferative capacity of human hippocampal progenitors, which may subsequently impact on human cognitive function and psychiatric disorder pathophysiology.

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Telomere length as a predictor of emotional processing in the brain

Cited by 16 publications

References 84 publications

Mood Disorders, Accelerated Aging, and Inflammation: Is the Link Hidden in Telomeres?

Mood Disorders, Accelerated Aging, and Inflammation: Is the Link Hidden in Telomeres?

Longer Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Stronger Response to a Workplace Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Sales Ban: An Exploratory Study

Telomere length and human hippocampal neurogenesis

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