Telomere Shortening in Interstitial Lung Disease: Challenges and Promises

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a group of diseases involving diffuse pulmonary parenchymal lesions and alveolar inflammation and interstitial fibrosis. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes to maintain structural integrity and telomerase can prevent telomere shortening. Telomerase abnormalities such as related gene mutations lead to decrease in telomerase activity and telomere shortening. It has been proven that telomere shortening and telomerase abnormalities are related to the occurrence and development of ILD. Telomere shortening occurs in different types of ILD patients and is associated with prognosis. Gene therapy targeting telomerase exhibits therapeutic potential. The paper elaborates on the progress of telomere shortening in the diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of ILD in recent years, in order to demonstrate its potential and promises and to be helpful for clinical diagnosis and treatment.