Association between leukocyte telomere length and COVID-19 severity

Abstract

Abstract Background Inter-individual variations in the clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection are among the challenging features of COVID-19. The known role of telomeres in cell proliferation and immune competency highlights their possible function in infectious diseases. Variability in telomere length is an invaluable parameter in the heterogeneity of the clinical presentation of diseases. Result In this study, our aim was to investigate the possible association between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and COVID-19 severity. LTL was measured in 100 patients with moderate and severe forms of COVID-19 using the quantitative PCR (q-PCR) method. Statistical analysis confirmed a strong inverse correlation between relative LTL and COVID-19 severity. Conclusions These findings suggest that LTL can be a useful parameter for predicting disease severity in patients, as individuals with short telomeres may have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Keywords

• Telomere
• Leukocyte telomere length
• SARS-CoV-2
• COVID-19
• Severity