Review Telomeres and essential hypertension Lina Ma, Yun Li ⁎, Jieyu Wang Department of Geriatrics, Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China abstract article info Article history: Received 12 February 2015 Received in revised form 5 July 2015 Accepted 8 July 2015 Available online 11 July 2015 Keywords: Telomere length Telomerase Hypertension Objectives: This review aims to clarify the relationship between telomeres and essential hypertension. Design and methods: A PubMed search and a critical review were performed relating to studies about the clinical and biological relevance of telomeres in essential hypertension. Results: Telomeres and telomerase activity play an important role in the occurrence and development of hy- pertension in both animal and human studies. Conclusions: A more complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of hypertension could reduce the incidence of hypertension-related diseases. © 2015 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1195 2. Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1196 3. Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1196 3.1. Search strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1196 3.2. The main findings of the included studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1196 4. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 4.1. Telomere structure and function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 4.2. Telomere length and telomerase activity in hypertension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 4.2.1. Commonalities between hypertension and aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 4.2.2. Telomere length and hypertension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 4.2.3. Telomerase activity and hypertension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 4.3. The mechanisms connecting telomeres and hypertension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197 5. Directions for future research suggested by this study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198 6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198 Conflict of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198 1. Introduction Essential hypertension can develop with various genetic abnor- malities, and while its pathogenesis is unclear, it is considered to be a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease worldwide [1]. Essential hypertension is a chronic and slowly progressive disease that affects approximately one billion people globally. It has been di- rectly implicated in approximately 7.1 million deaths annually [2,3], and contributes to morbidity and mortality in multiple diseases [4]. Recent evidence suggests that alterations in telomerase activity and telomere length may be involved in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension [5,6]. Telomeres are protective nucleoprotein struc- tures at the terminal ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, while telomerase maintains telomere length. Together, they play an im- portant role in maintaining the stability of chromosome ends [7]. Clinical Biochemistry 48 (2015) 1195–1199 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Geriatrics, Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, #45 Changchun Street, Xicheng District, Beijing 100053, China. E-mail addresses: marina0583@163.com (L. Ma), liyunxw@163.com (Y. Li), wang_jie_yu@sina.com (J. Wang). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2015.07.013 0009-9120/© 2015 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Clinical Biochemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/clinbiochem