How telomeres are related to aging?

Table of Contents

Telomere length shortens with age. Progressive shortening of telomeres leads to senescence, apoptosis, or oncogenic transformation of somatic cells, affecting the health and lifespan of an individual. Shorter telomeres have been associated with increased incidence of diseases and poor survival.

Can telomeres play a role in anti aging?

Telomeres play a central role in cell fate and aging by adjusting the cellular response to stress and growth stimulation on the basis of previous cell divisions and DNA damage. At least a few hundred nucleotides of telomere repeats must “cap” each chromosome end to avoid activation of DNA repair pathways.

What is the average telomere length by age?

At birth the average telomere length is 10.000 bps. At 20 years of age the average telomere length is around 8.000 bps.

Can telomerase reverse aging?

Dramatic rejuvenation of prematurely aged mice hints at potential therapy. Premature ageing can be reversed by reactivating an enzyme that protects the tips of chromosomes, a study in mice suggests. Mice engineered to lack the enzyme, called telomerase, become prematurely decrepit.

Why does telomere length decrease with age?

Telomeres, nucleoprotein structures located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, protect the end of the chromosome from degradation and end-to-end fusion [1]. With each somatic cell division, there is a gradual attrition of the telomere, resulting in telomere length shortening with increasing age [1].

What factors affect the aging process?

The most notable exogenous factors influencing degree of aging were sun exposure and smoking. Other possibly contributory lifestyle factors include alcohol consumption, stress, diet, exercise, disease, and medication.

Why do telomeres shorten with age?

Telomeres are subjected to shortening at each cycle of cell division due to incomplete synthesis of the lagging strand during DNA replication owing to the inability of DNA polymerase to completely replicate the ends of chromosome DNA (“end-replication problem”) (Muraki et al., 2012).

What is the role of telomere in senescence and aging?

Telomeres are protective structures present at the ends of linear chromosomes that are important in preventing genome instability. Telomeres shorten as a result of cellular replication, leading to a permanent cell cycle arrest, also known as replicative senescence.

At what age do telomeres start to shorten?

After the newborn phase, the number of base pairs tends to decline by approximately 20 to 40 per year. For example, by time a person reaches the age of 40, their telomeres could have lost up to 1,600 base pairs.

What happens if telomeres are too long?

Our cellular machinery results in a little bit of the telomere becoming lopped off each time cells replicate their DNA and divide. As telomeres shorten over time, the chromosomes themselves become vulnerable to damage. Eventually the cells die.

Can telomerase make us immortal?

Telomerase is thus able to extend the life-span a cell, and has been dubbed the “immortality” enzyme.

What happens when telomeres run out?

Each time a cell divides and replicates, the DNA at the end of telomeres shorten. Since cell division happens throughout life, telomeres get shorter and shorter as we age. When the telomeres run out, the cell becomes inactive or dies, which leads to disease.

What is the role of telomeres in aging?

How do genotoxic agents affect telomere health?

Thus the exposure to genotoxic agents, which may induce damage to DNA in general or more extensively at telomeres, can increase cancer risk and pace of aging. Stress increases the pace of telomere shortening and aging

What causes telomere shortening in old age?

Rate of telomere shortening may indicate the pace of aging. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, lack of physical activity, obesity, stress, exposure to pollution, etc. can potentially increase the rate of telomere shortening, cancer risk, and pace of aging.

Does telomeric dysfunction increase with age and age-related diseases?

The expression of stathmin and EF-1a, the biomarkers for telomeric dysfunction and DNA damage in a cell, increases with age and age-related diseases in humans [ 7, 8 ]. Telomere length negatively correlates with age whereas the expression of p16, which increases in aging cells, positively correlates with age [ 7, 8 ].