Research news: Circulating cell-free DNA is associated with mortality and inflammatory markers in nonagenarians: the Vitality 90+ Study.
Research news: Circulating cell-free DNA is associated with mortality and inflammatory markers in nonagenarians: the Vitality 90+ Study.
Advanced age is typically accompanied with low-grade inflammation – a phenomenon that has also been demonstrated to predict longevity in several studies.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the associations between the plasma cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) level and immunoinflammatory markers and 4-year mortality. The study population consisted of n=258 nonagenarians who were participants in the Vitality 90+ Study. cf-DNA levels were directly correlated with the C-reactive protein level, the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist level, the serum amyloid A level and the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase enzyme activity, and inversely correlated with the HDL cholesterol level. The total cf-DNA concentration also remained as an independent predictor of 4-year all-cause mortality. We suggest that plasma cf-DNA concentration could thus represent a novel biomarker for systemic inflammation and mortality in the elderly.
Jylhävä J, Jylhä M, Lehtimäki T, Hervonen A, Hurme M.
Exp Gerontol. 2012 May;47(5):372-8. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2012.02.011. Epub 2012 Mar 3. PubMed PMID: 22406558.