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Telomere length and specific genes associated with IPF:
There is a lot on this subject on PubMed for those interested. Shortened telomere length comes up a lot. So do some specific genes. One study even has some research on natural substances that support telomere length. Dr David Sinclair at Harvard is big on NmN. I’m unsure. Since I’m 79 it might be worth a try as the older you are the shorter they become until certain cells can’t replicate correctly.
I was doing research on genetic like links and telomeres because my sister and possibly a few relatives have IPF. It was striking that shortened telomeres were associated with IPF in most cases. I’m doing some genetic testing to see if I have any of the genetic markers. That would support a case for familial IPF. Sorry I can’t go too deep as I don’t have the right background
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2 Replies
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James,
I’ve had IPF for 23 years. I’m sorry to say I’m not educated on the hereditary gene aspect of it. My IPF was environmental. Something I breathed in caused it. Could I have passed this on to my son. He is 19 now and I was diagnosed 23 years ago. No one has mentioned that that could be a possibility. Even though he started having breathing problems at three weeks. At six years of age he went into cardiac arrest running a track meet. Doctors said he didn’t have a heart issue it was lung related. He has since kinda grew out of his lung issues. But still requires an inhaler once in a while. Thank you for your time.
Stephanie -
I really don’t know. I’m very early into this subject. I did notice some genes that were related to lung issues thought to contribute to IPF. But genetic tendencies do not generally cause an illness by themselves. Many of the illnesses involve defects in multiple genes. The only way to tell, in my opinion, is genetic testing.
This was an interesting comment in one study: “Currently, it is estimated that up to 20% of people with pulmonary fibrosis have familial pulmonary fibrosis (FPF).
We are still learning about all the possible causes of FPF. It is important to know that there is not simply one gene or one variant that causes FPF. Inherited gene variants in two important pathways are known to be related to FPF. The more frequent variants are in genes that are related to protecting the telomeres. Telomeres are specialized structures located at the ends of chromosomes that serve to protect our chromosomes throughout our lifetime.
Variants in several telomere regulatory genes (TERT, TERC, PARN, DKC1, NAF1, RTEL1, ZCCHC8, and TINF2) have been discovered and account for 20-30% of FPF cases.
Variants in genes of another pathway, the surfactant genes (SFTPA1, SFTPA2, SFTPC, ABCA3 and NKX2-1) are less common and account for 1-3% of familial cases.”Please keep in mind that degraded telomers are generally a sign of old age. (like ME!)
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