Association between relative telomere length and a genetic variant of sirt1 gene and age-related macular degeneration

One of the most important factors predisposing to the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is aging. Telomeres are important for aging by maintaining genome stability. Aim: to identify the association between relative telomere length of buccal epithelial cells and SIRT1 rs12778366 genetic variation and late AMD. Patients and Methods: 100 patients (200 eyes) were enrolled, i.e., 50 patients with AMD (AREDS category 4) and 50 patients without AMD. Genomic DNA isolated from buccal epithelial cells by phenol-chloroform extraction was used. Genotyping of SIRT1 rs12778366 polymorphic locus was performed by TaqMan® real-time PCR. Telomere length was measured by real-time PCR as described earlier [Cawthon, 2002] using specific primers. Relative telomere length was assessed by the relative telomere to single-copy gene (T/S) ratio. Results: the rate of allele C was 25% in the study group and 14% in the control group (p=0.049). The rate of heterozygotic TC genotype was twice higher in the study group compared to the control group (p=0.045). In heterozygotic carriers of the allele C of the SIRT1 rs12778366 gene, the risk of AMD is 2.048- and 2.425-times higher in сodominant and dominant inheritance pattern, respectively. In patients with late AMD, there are more short telomeres (64% vs. 48% in the control group, р=0.0002). Conclusions: further studies of a polymorphic SIRT1 gene locus in the association with telomere length in a larger sample are required. In the future, these molecular markers can be applied to predict the individual course of AMD and to implement preventive measures. Keywords: age-related macular degeneration, relative telomere length, rs12778366, SIRT1 gene, age-related diseases, buccal epithelium, genetic testing. For citation: Moshetova L.K., Dmitrenko O.P., Abramova O.I. et al. Association between relative telomere length and a genetic variant of SIRT gene and age-related macular degeneration. Russian Journal of Clinical Ophthalmology. 2021;21(3):143–146 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2311- 7729-2021-21-3-143-146.