Telomerase activity and telomere length of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in SLE patients

We evaluated the clinical significance of the telomerase activity and telomere length of peripheral blood mononuclearcells (PBMC) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). PBMC were isolated from 55 patients with SLE and the telomerase activity was measured by TRAP assay. The telomere length of PBMC was also measured in 30 of these subjects. As a control group, 45 healthy adults with no particular clinical history were studied. The results were compared with clinical data. In patients with active SLE, the telomerase activity of PBMC was significantly increased compared with the control group. In patients with inactive SLE, the PBMC telomerase activity was not different compared with the controls in their 20s, 30s and 40s, but it was significantly increased compared with the controls in their 50s. In SLE patients, the telomerase activity of PBMC was significantly correlatedwith modified SLEDAI. The telomere length of PBMC in younger SLE patients tended to be shorter than that in the controls, but no differenc...