NPJ Breast Cancer · Apr 13, 2022

The impact of reproductive factors on DNA methylation-based telomere length in healthy breast tissue

By Sehl ME, Henry JE, Storniolo AM et al.

Estrogen promotes breast tissue proliferation and telomerase activation. We investigated the effects of reproductive history on cell cycling and telomere length using a DNA methylation-based estimate of telomere length (DNAmTL) in breast and blood from healthy women donors. We demonstrate that DNAmTL is shorter in breast than in blood, and that nulliparous women have longer age-adjusted DNAmTL in both breast and blood, potentially explaining their higher risk of breast cancer.

doi.org/10.1038/s41523-022-00410-4Open accessPubMed 35418123Biomarkers