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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Feb 11.
Published in final edited form as: Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Apr;58(4):990. doi: 10.1002/art.23287

Figure 5. Accelerated telomeric erosion in CD34+ HPC in RA.

Figure 5

Circulating CD34+ HPC were isolated from fresh blood of 21 controls and 25 patients. DNA was extracted, and the lengths of telomeric sequences were measured by real-time PCR. Telomeric ends were 1,600 bp shorter in the RA cohort compared to age-matched controls (A). The relationship between donor age and telomeric lengths in HPC for controls and patients is shown (B). Patients were categorized as active or inactive and treated or untreated as described in Figure 2. Telomeric lengths in CD34+ HPC did not correlate to disease duration (C). Telomeres were shortened to the same degree in patients with active and inactive RA (D). Patients on treatment displayed a similar loss of telomeres as untreated patients (D).