Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: nocturnal intermittent hypoxia and telomerase complex activity

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common pathology of the respiratory system characterized by upper airway blockage during sleep. The blockage is caused by intermittent throat collapse and thereby no lung ventilation with preserved respiratory efforts. Earlier we demonstrated that telomeres at the end of chromosomes shorten during intermittent nocturnal hypoxia and sleep fragmentation in OSA patients; the elimination of OSA triggers contributed to an increase in relative telomere length (RTL). The search for the relationship between telomeres and the telomerase complex activity with the sleep stages, as well as indicators of blood oxygen saturation in OSA, seems relevant.Aim. To evaluate the activity of the telomerase complex main components and to determine its relationship with the sleep phases and the level of desaturation in patients with OSA.Methods. The main group included 32 men (age 51.2 ± 3.1 years) with complaints of snoring, respiratory arrest during sleep, and increased daytime sleep. The control group consisted of 26 matched volunteers without clinical manifestations of OSA. Patients of both groups did not have any exacerbations of their chronic conditions at baseline. The study included questionnaires, polysomnography monitoring, analysis of the RLT by PCR, ELISA to determine activity of the telomerase complex components, and statistical analysis.Results. Differences were revealed in the functioning of telomeres and the TERT, TEP1. A positive relationship between the oxygen blood saturation, telomere length and TER1 activity was found in OSA patients.Conclusion. We have identified the decrease in RTL and the telomerase complex activity and proved their positive relationship with the oxygen saturation during intermittent nocturnal hypoxia in OSA patients.