Scholarlink

Background <p>Telomere shortening and mitochondrial dysfunction are well-known independent contributors to many diseases, but emerging evidence suggests a reciprocal relationship between the two processes. The role of the so-called telomere-mitochondrial axis in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unknown.</p> Methods <p>This prospective cohort study screened CRC patients who underwent surgery, from whom peripheral blood, intestinal mucosa, and tumor samples were collected. Colonoscopically confirmed cancer- and adenoma-free healthy individuals were screened as controls, from whom peripheral blood and intestinal mucosa samples were obtained. Relative mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) and relative telomere length (RTL) were measured in all samples by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and were further compared and correlated considering clinical data. Relative mtDNA-CN was quantified using both TaqMan probes and SYBR Green to compare both methods. Finally, multivariable analyses were conducted to investigate the association between both biomarkers and the risk of tumor recurrence and mortality.</p> Results <p>A total of 166 CRC patients and 61 healthy individuals were included in the study. In TNM stage I patients, relative mtDNA-CN and RTL were negatively correlated with each other in intestinal mucosa (ρ = -0.77, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.0001), tumor tissue (ρ = -0.41, <i>p</i> = 0.032), and the tumor-to-intestinal mucosa ratio (ρ = -0.39, <i>p</i> = 0.046). However, these associations disappeared with increasing TNM stage, suggesting a dysregulation of the telomere-mitochondrial axis in advanced disease. Higher relative mtDNA-CN in blood was associated with a lower risk of disease recurrence even after adjusting for multiple covariates (HR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.20–0.97, <i>p</i> = 0.041), highlighting its potential use as a prognostic tool. The quantification of mtDNA-CN performed by both methods -TaqMan probes and SYBR Green- was shown to be positively correlated (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.01). Relative mtDNA-CN and RTL were found to be tissue-dependent in both CRC patients and healthy controls.</p> Conclusions <p>This study provides a novel contribution to the understanding of the almost unexplored telomere-mitochondrial axis in CRC, highlighting its potential role in disease progression and prognosis.</p> Graphical Abstract <p>Created with <a href="https://www.BioRender.com">https://www.BioRender.com</a>.</p> <p></p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Unraveling the telomere-mitochondrial axis in colorectal cancer: Results from a prospectively followed cohort

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月21日

查看全文
  • Adrián Gil-Korilis,
  • Jorge Ergui-Arbizu,
  • Petr Hanák,
  • Natálie Danešová,
  • Kristýna Tomášová,
  • Anna Valíčková,
  • Josef Horák,
  • Manuel Gentiluomo,
  • Miroslav Levý,
  • Soňa Křivonosková,
  • Jan Král,
  • Jiří Jungwirth,
  • Ludmila Vodičková,
  • Veronika Vymetálková,
  • Amaya Azqueta,
  • Daniele Campa,
  • Pavel Vodička,
  • Soňa Vodenková

摘要

Background

Telomere shortening and mitochondrial dysfunction are well-known independent contributors to many diseases, but emerging evidence suggests a reciprocal relationship between the two processes. The role of the so-called telomere-mitochondrial axis in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains largely unknown.

Methods

This prospective cohort study screened CRC patients who underwent surgery, from whom peripheral blood, intestinal mucosa, and tumor samples were collected. Colonoscopically confirmed cancer- and adenoma-free healthy individuals were screened as controls, from whom peripheral blood and intestinal mucosa samples were obtained. Relative mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) and relative telomere length (RTL) were measured in all samples by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and were further compared and correlated considering clinical data. Relative mtDNA-CN was quantified using both TaqMan probes and SYBR Green to compare both methods. Finally, multivariable analyses were conducted to investigate the association between both biomarkers and the risk of tumor recurrence and mortality.

Results

A total of 166 CRC patients and 61 healthy individuals were included in the study. In TNM stage I patients, relative mtDNA-CN and RTL were negatively correlated with each other in intestinal mucosa (ρ = -0.77, p < 0.0001), tumor tissue (ρ = -0.41, p = 0.032), and the tumor-to-intestinal mucosa ratio (ρ = -0.39, p = 0.046). However, these associations disappeared with increasing TNM stage, suggesting a dysregulation of the telomere-mitochondrial axis in advanced disease. Higher relative mtDNA-CN in blood was associated with a lower risk of disease recurrence even after adjusting for multiple covariates (HR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.20–0.97, p = 0.041), highlighting its potential use as a prognostic tool. The quantification of mtDNA-CN performed by both methods -TaqMan probes and SYBR Green- was shown to be positively correlated (p < 0.01). Relative mtDNA-CN and RTL were found to be tissue-dependent in both CRC patients and healthy controls.

Conclusions

This study provides a novel contribution to the understanding of the almost unexplored telomere-mitochondrial axis in CRC, highlighting its potential role in disease progression and prognosis.

Graphical Abstract

Created with https://www.BioRender.com.