TELOMERE LENGTH AS A BIOLOGICAL MARKER FOR ASSESSING THE SERIOUSNESS OF PNEUMONIA OF VARIOUS ETIOLOGIES

Abstract

Abstract. The results of the features of the clinical course of pneumonia of various etiologies are presented, taking into account the epigenetic indicator of the human body, such as telomere length. We examined 102 male military personnel who were treated at the hospital therapy clinic of the Military Medical Academy named after S. M. Kirov. The patients were divided into two groups: group I of 63 people aged 37,3±6,7 years with pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus infection; Group II - 39 men aged 41.4±5.3 years with bacterial pneumonia of various etiologies. Patients were examined and treated according to the standard scheme. In the group of severe viral pneumonia, a significantly larger volume of lung parenchymal damage was determined, a decrease in saturation to 91,3±1,6% (p=0,003); myocardial damage: an increase in troponin T up to 15,6±5,3 ng/l (p=0.001), an increase in total CPK, AST and ALT compared with patients of group II. In group I, evaluating the results of hemogram parameters, attention is drawn to the tendency to thrombocytopenia (172±29x109/l, p=0,03), the tendency to leukopenia (4.1±1,2x109/l) in severe disease. There was a significant increase in CRP, D-dimer and ferritin in severe viral pneumonia in men of group I, which can be characterized as coagulopathy associated with the risk of developing arterial and venous thrombosis because of microthrombovasculitis. Telomeres are specialized functional complexes that are located at the ends of chromosomes and protect them from fusion with each other, which preserves the integrity of the eukaryotic cell genome. Telomere length is an important characteristic of a person’s overall health. It is associated with such characteristics as longevity or the affinity of the human body to various diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and others. In this scientific study, change in length lomer in patients with pneumonia of various etiologies. The most pronounced shortening of telomere length was found in patients with severe viral pneumonia (significant shortening of telomere length by more than 2000 base pairs), compared with bacterial pneumonia. The identified changes can be used to predict an unfavorable outcome of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus infection, for example, the development of such a formidable complication as a “cytokine storm”. The obtained preliminary results make it possible to consider telomere length as a specific biological marker for assessing the severity of pneumonia caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.