Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29281671›Full record

ArticlePloS one2017

Short telomere length in IPF lung associates with fibrotic lesions and predicts survival.

Reinier Snetselaar, Aernoud A van Batenburg, Matthijs F M van Oosterhout, Karin M Kazemier, Suzan M Roothaan, Ton Peeters, Joanne J van der Vis, Roel Goldschmeding, Jan C Grutters, Coline H M van Moorsel

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
78citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
10.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

78 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Telomere Length and Use of Immunosuppressive Medications in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine · 2019
    Trial
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Hallmarks of the ageing lung: 10 years later.The European respiratory journal · 2026
    Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Progressive pulmonary fibrosis.European radiology · 2026
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Targeting the epithelium in pulmonary fibrosis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2026
    Review
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Epigenetic age acceleration in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis revealed by DNA methylation clocks.American journal of physiology. Lung cellular and molecular physiology · 2025
    Article

18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Reinier SnetselaarDepartment of Pulmonology, St Antonius ILD Center of Excellence, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.
Aernoud A van BatenburgDepartment of Pulmonology, St Antonius ILD Center of Excellence, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2841-7911
Matthijs F M van OosterhoutDepartment of Pathology, St Antonius ILD Center of Excellence, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.
Karin M KazemierDepartment of Pulmonology, St Antonius ILD Center of Excellence, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.
Suzan M RoothaanDepartment of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Ton PeetersDepartment of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Joanne J van der VisDepartment of Pulmonology, St Antonius ILD Center of Excellence, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.
Roel GoldschmedingDepartment of Pathology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Jan C GruttersDepartment of Pulmonology, St Antonius ILD Center of Excellence, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.
Coline H M van MoorselDepartment of Pulmonology, St Antonius ILD Center of Excellence, St Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.
University Medical Center Utrecht · NLSt. Antonius Ziekenhuis · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Telomere maintenance dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). However, the mechanism of how telomere length is related to fibrosis in the lungs is unknown. Surgical lung biopsies of IPF patients typically show a heterogeneous pattern of non-fibrotic and fibrotic areas. Therefore, telomere length (TL) in both lung areas of patients with IPF and familial interstitial pneumonia was compared, specifically in alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells. Fluorescent in situ hybridization was used to determine TL in non-fibrotic and fibrotic areas of 35 subjects. Monochrome multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (MMqPCR) was used for 51 whole lung biopsies and blood TL measurements. For sporadic IPF subjects, AT2 cell TL in non-fibrotic areas was 56% longer than in fibrotic areas. No such difference was observed in the surrounding lung cells. In subjects carrying a telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) mutation, AT2 cell TL was significantly shorter than in sporadic subjects. However, no difference in surrounding cell TL was observed between these subject groups. Finally, using biopsy MMqPCR TL measurements, it was determined that IPF subjects with shortest lung TL had a significantly worse survival than patients with long TL. This study shows that shortening of telomeres critically affects AT2 cells in fibrotic areas, implying TL as a cause of fibrogenesis. Furthermore, short lung telomere length is associated with decreased survival.

Indexed as

TelomereAgedFemaleHumansIn Situ Hybridization, FluorescenceLungMaleMiddle AgedMultiplex Polymerase Chain ReactionPulmonary FibrosisSurvival AnalysisTelomeraseTelomeraseTERT protein, human

Identifiers

PMID29281671
PMCPMC5744955
OpenAlexW2779884866

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.