High Body Mass Index is Associated with Elevated Blood Levels of Progerin mRNA

oleh: Moritz Messner, Santhosh Kumar Ghadge, Thomas Schuetz, Herbert Seiringer, Gerhard Pƶlzl, Marc-Michael Zaruba

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-04-01

Deskripsi

Obesity is a well-described risk factor resulting in premature aging of the cardiovascular system ultimately limiting longevity. Premature cardiac death and aging is the hallmark of Hutchinson&#8211;Gilford syndrome (HGPS), a disease caused by defined mutations in the lamin A gene leading to a shortened prelamin A protein known as progerin. Since small amounts of progerin are expressed in healthy individuals we aimed to investigate the association of Body-Mass-Index (BMI) with respect to expression of progerin mRNA in blood samples of patient with known cardiovascular disease. In this cross-sectional retrospective analysis, 111 patients were consecutively included of which 46 were normal (BMI &lt; 25 kg/m<sup>2</sup>) and 65 overweight (BMI &#8805; 25.0 kg/m<sup>2</sup>). Blood samples were analyzed for quantitative expression of progerin mRNA. Progerin as well as high-sensitive C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) levels were significantly upregulated in the overweight group. Linear regression analyses showed a significant positive correlation of BMI and progerin mRNA (<i>n</i> = 111; <i>r</i> = 0.265, <i>p</i> = 0.005), as well as for hs-CRP (<i>n</i> = 110; <i>r</i> = 0.300, <i>p</i> = 0.001) and for Hb1Ac (<i>n</i> = 110; <i>r</i> = 0.336, <i>p</i> = 0.0003). Our data suggest that BMI strongly correlates with progerin mRNA expression and inflammation. Progerin might contribute to well described accelerated biologic aging in obese individuals.