Research Paper Volume 11, Issue 2 pp 741—755
Association between antidiabetic agents use and leukocyte telomere shortening rates in patients with type 2 diabetes
- 1 Department of Endocrinology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- 2 Key Laboratory of Gene Engineering of the Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Received: December 9, 2018 Accepted: January 15, 2019 Published: January 28, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101781How to Cite
Abstract
Telomere length and telomere shortening rate (TSR) are accepted indicators of aging in cross-sectional population studies. This study aimed to investigate the potential influence of common antidiabetic agents on telomere length and TSR in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Leukocyte telomere length was measured through terminal restriction fragment analysis, and TSR was calculated in 388 T2DM patients. Depending on whether or not they received antidiabetic medication, patients were first divided into a treatment group and a nontreatment group. Treated patients were further subdivided into an acarbose-free group (patients taking antidiabetic agents without acarbose) and an acarbose group (patients using acarbose for more than 3 months). Results showed that untreated patients had higher TSRs than patients on antidiabetic drugs. Interestingly, patients in the acarbose group had significantly higher TSRs than patients in the acarbose-free group. Compared to the nontreatment group, the acarbose group showed better glycemic control of HbA1c, but the TSR was also higher. Our results suggest that antidiabetic treatments without acarbose can slow aging. By contrast, acarbose may accelerate biological aging in patients with T2DM, independently of glycemic control.
Abbreviations
T2DM: type 2 diabetes mellitus; HbA1c: hemoglobin; OGTT: oral glucose tolerance test; TRF: terminal restriction fragment; TSR: telomere shortening rate.