Telomeres and Aging (links)

 
Many scientists previously thought that aging might arise primarily due to clock-like shortening of telomeres, DNA-protein complexes at the end of each of our chromosomes, with every cell division. This was primarily based upon in vitro experiments wherein the lifespan of cell cultures could be extended past the Hayflick limit (roughly 50 cell divisions) via the addition of telomerase, an enzyme that elongates telomeres. They postulated that telomeres served to prevent cancer cells from dividing indefinitely by cutting off their proliferation at the Hayflick sequence. However, this view appears to be very much overly-simplistic. Telomeres also appear to serve as a sort of "sink" for free radicals, such these molecules as well as other forms of cellular stress can result in shortening of the telomeres, possibly as a signal that damage has occurred. Additionally, if telomeres are regarded as an "aging clock" then neurons should never senesce, because they never divide! So, while research on telomeres and telomerase may prove extremely useful for addressing some forms of cancer and possibly some instances of cellular senesence, this research by no means appears to be any sort of holy grail for the development of life-extension therapies.

Check back soon for more info on telomeres and aging!



Telomere Links (let us know if any are broken!)
cs-related keywords



Recent Related References:
  • Associations between diet, lifestyle factors, and telomere length in women. Cassidy A, De Vivo I, Liu Y et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar 10. PMID: 20219960
  • SIRT1/eNOS Axis as a Potential Target against Vascular Senescence, Dysfunction and Atherosclerosis. Ota H, Eto M, Ogawa S et al. J Atheroscler Thromb. 2010 Mar 9. PMID: 20215708
  • Telomeric protein TRF2 protects Holliday junctions with telomeric arms from displacement by the Werner syndrome helicase. Nora GJ, Buncher NA, Opresko PL. Nucleic Acids Res. 2010 Mar 9. PMID: 20215438
  • Telomeres and telomerase in normal and malignant B-cells. Lobetti-Bodoni C, Bernocco E, Genuardi E et al. Hematol Oncol. 2010 Mar 8. PMID: 20213664
  • Different Facets of Aging in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Wagner W, Ho AD, Zenke M. Tissue Eng Part B Rev. 2010 Mar 2. PMID: 20196648
  • Sod2 haploinsufficiency does not accelerate aging of telomere dysfunctional mice. Guachalla LM, Ju Z, Koziel R et al. Aging (Albany NY). 2009 Mar 5. PMID: 20195488
  • Sex-related differences in length and erosion dynamics of human telomeres favor females. Möller P, Mayer S, Mattfeldt T et al. Aging (Albany NY). 2009 Jul 14. PMID: 20195387
  • Short Leukocyte Telomere Length is Associated with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA). Atturu G, Brouilette S, Samani NJ et al. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg. 2010 Feb 19. PMID: 20172749
  • Ionizing radiation and aging: rejuvenating an old idea. Richardson RB. Aging (Albany NY). 2009 Nov 17. PMID: 20157573
  • Telomere length regulates ISG15 expression in human cells. Lou Z, Wei J, Riethman H et al. Aging (Albany NY). 2009 Jul 17. PMID: 20157543
  • Spontaneous reversal of the developmental aging of normal human cells following transcriptional reprogramming. Vaziri H, Chapman K, Guigova A et al. Regen Med. 2010 Mar 16. PMID: 20230312
  • Telomere Length is a Biomarker of Cumulative Oxidative Stress, Biologic Age, and an Independent Predictor of Survival and Therapeutic Treatment Requirement Associated With Smoking Behavior. Babizhayev MA, Savelʼyeva EL, Moskvina SN et al. Am J Ther. 2010 Mar 11. PMID: 20228673
  • The load of short telomeres, estimated by a new method, Universal STELA, correlates with number of senescent cells. Bendix L, Horn PB, Jensen UB et al. Aging Cell. 2010 Mar 13. PMID: 20331440
  • Zscan4 regulates telomere elongation and genomic stability in ES cells. Zalzman M, Falco G, Sharova LV et al. Nature. 2010 Mar 24. PMID: 20336070
  • Robust activation of the human but not mouse telomerase gene during the induction of pluripotency. Mathew R, Jia W, Sharma A et al. FASEB J. 2010 Mar 30. PMID: 20354136
  • Impact papers on aging in 2009. Blagosklonny MV, Campisi J, Sinclair DA et al. Aging (Albany NY). 2010 Mar. PMID: 20351400
  • Depression gets old fast: do stress and depression accelerate cell aging? Wolkowitz OM, Epel ES, Reus VI et al. Depress Anxiety. 2010 Apr. PMID: 20376837
  • Telomeres, Aging, and Plants: From Weeds to Methuselah - A Mini-Review. Watson JM, Riha K. Gerontology. 2010 Apr 7. PMID: 20375491
  • Linking functional decline of telomeres, mitochondria and stem cells during ageing. Sahin E, Depinho RA. Nature. 2010 Mar 25. PMID: 20336134
  • Telomere talk: the nutrition connection. Ocampo C. J Nutr Elder. 2010 Jan. PMID: 20391046
  • Telomere length in prospective and retrospective cancer case-control studies. Pooley KA, Sandhu MS, Tyrer J et al. Cancer Res. 2010 Apr 15. PMID: 20395204
  • Endogenous oxidative stress prevents telomerase-dependent immortalization of human endothelial cells. Voghel G, Thorin-Trescases N, Mamarbachi AM et al. Mech Ageing Dev. 2010 Apr 15. PMID: 20399802
  • Telomere biology of the chicken: A model for aging research. Swanberg SE, O'Hare TH, Robb EA et al. Exp Gerontol. 2010 Apr 14. PMID: 20399262
  • Leukocyte telomere length is inversely correlated with plasma Von Willebrand factor. Hjelmborg JV, Nzietchueng R, Kimura M et al. Thromb Res. 2010 Apr 14. PMID: 20398917
  • Nuclear size measurement is a simple method for the assessment of hepatocellular aging in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: Comparison with telomere-specific quantitative FISH and p21 immunohistochemistry. Nakajima T, Nakashima T, Okada Y et al. Pathol Int. 2010 Mar. PMID: 20403043
  • No Associations Between Telomere Length and Age-Sensitive Indicators of Physical Function in Mid and Later Life. Mather KA, Jorm AF, Milburn PJ et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Apr 22. PMID: 20413528
  • Telomere-dependent senescent phenotype of lens epithelial cells as a biological marker of aging and cataractogenesis: the role of oxidative stress intensity and specific mechanism of phospholipid hydroperoxide toxicity in lens and aqueous. Babizhayev MA, Vishnyakova KS, Yegorov YE. Fundam Clin Pharmacol. 2010 Apr 19. PMID: 20412312
  • Genome-wide association identifies OBFC1 as a locus involved in human leukocyte telomere biology. Levy D, Neuhausen SL, Hunt SC et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Apr 26. PMID: 20421499
  • Saturated fatty acid metabolism is key link between cell division, cancer, and senescence in cellular and whole organism aging. Ford JH. Age (Dordr). 2010 Jun. PMID: 20431990
  • Do US Black Women Experience Stress-Related Accelerated Biological Aging?: A Novel Theory and First Population-Based Test of Black-White Differences in Telomere Length. Geronimus AT, Hicken MT, Pearson JA et al. Hum Nat. 2010 Mar 10. PMID: 20436780
  • Human telomeres are hypersensitive to UV-induced DNA Damage and refractory to repair. Rochette PJ, Brash DE. PLoS Genet. 2010 Apr 29. PMID: 20442874
  • Epigenetic alterations in aging. Gonzalo S. J Appl Physiol. 2010 May 6. PMID: 20448029
  • Epigenetic alterations in aging. Gonzalo S. J Appl Physiol. 2010 May 6. PMID: 20448029
  • Telomeric function of mammalian telomerases at short telomeres. Fakhoury J, Marie-Egyptienne DT, Londoño-Vallejo JA et al. J Cell Sci. 2010 May 15. PMID: 20427319
  • Telomeric function of mammalian telomerases at short telomeres. Fakhoury J, Marie-Egyptienne DT, Londoño-Vallejo JA et al. J Cell Sci. 2010 May 15. PMID: 20427319
  • Impaired Endothelial Repair Capacity of Early Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Prehypertension. Relation to Endothelial Dysfunction. Giannotti G, Doerries C, Mocharla PS et al. Hypertension. 2010 May 10. PMID: 20458006
  • New Concept in Nutrition for the Maintenance of the Aging Eye Redox Regulation and Therapeutic Treatment of Cataract Disease; Synergism of Natural Antioxidant Imidazole-Containing Amino Acid-Based Compounds, Chaperone, and Glutathione Boosting Agents: A Systemic Perspective on Aging and Longevity Emerged From Studies in Humans. Babizhayev MA. Am J Ther. 2010 May 11. PMID: 20463577
  • Function of Apollo (SNM1B) at telomere highlighted by a splice variant identified in a patient with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome. Touzot F, Callebaut I, Soulier J et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 May 17. PMID: 20479256
  • Telomere length is inherited with resetting of the telomere set-point. Chiang YJ, Calado RT, Hathcock KS et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 May 17. PMID: 20479226
  • [Age-related microscopic and molecular changes of the human colon, and their role in the development of colorectal cancer in elderly people.] Leiszter K, Galamb O, Sipos F et al. Orv Hetil. 2010 May 30. PMID: 20478809
  • Vanishing honey bees: Is the dying of adult worker bees a consequence of short telomeres and premature aging? Stindl R, Stindl W Jr. Med Hypotheses. 2010 May 15. PMID: 20478660
  • Characterization of oxidative Guanine damage and repair in Mammalian telomeres. Wang Z, Rhee DB, Lu J et al. PLoS Genet. 2010 May 13. PMID: 20485567
  • Cellular Aging Reflected by Leukocyte Telomere Length Predicts Advanced Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Willeit P, Willeit J, Brandstätter A et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2010 May 27. PMID: 20508208
  • Immune aging and rheumatoid arthritis. Goronzy JJ, Shao L, Weyand CM. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2010 May. PMID: 20510235
  • Telomere length and its associations with oxidized-LDL, carotid artery distensibility and smoking. Nawrot TS, Staessen JA, Holvoet P et al. Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2010 Jun 1. PMID: 20515788
  • The power of exercise: buffering the effect of chronic stress on telomere length. Puterman E, Lin J, Blackburn E et al. PLoS One. 2010 May 26. PMID: 20520771
  • Unraveling the roles of WRN and DNA-PKcs at telomeres. Beattie TL, Lees-Miller SP. Aging (Albany NY). 2010 May. PMID: 20519782
  • New insight into telomere maintenance. Wu RT, Cheng WH. Aging (Albany NY). 2010 May. PMID: 20519779
  • Cooperation of DNA-PKcs and WRN helicase in the maintenance of telomeric D-loops. Kusumoto-Matsuo R, Opresko PL, Ramsden D et al. Aging (Albany NY). 2010 May. PMID: 20519774
  • Age-related association of rDNA and telomeres with the nuclear matrix in mouse hepatocytes. Moraes AS, Mondin M, Beletti ME et al. Cell Biol Int. 2010 Jun 2. PMID: 20518743
  • Aging, telomeres and heart failure. Wong LS, van der Harst P, de Boer RA et al. Heart Fail Rev. 2010 Jun 9. PMID: 20532978
  • Improving Precision in Investigating Aging: Why Telomeres Can Cause Problems. Shiels PG. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Jun 10. PMID: 20538902
  • Epigallocatechin gallate protects H9c2 cardiomyoblasts against hydrogen dioxides- induced apoptosis and telomere attrition. Sheng R, Gu ZL, Xie ML et al. Eur J Pharmacol. 2010 Jun 8. PMID: 20553906
  • Deficiency of telomerase activity aggravates the blood-brain barrier disruption and neuroinflammatory responses in a model of experimental stroke. Zhang B, Chen L, Swartz KR et al. J Neurosci Res. 2010 Jun 16. PMID: 20564349
  • Lifestyle impacts on the aging associated expression of biomarkers of DNA damage and telomere dysfunction in human blood. Song Z, von Figura G, Liu Y et al. Aging Cell. 2010 Jun 17. PMID: 20560902
  • Role of shelterin in cancer and aging. Martínez P, Blasco MA. Aging Cell. 2010 Jun 21. PMID: 20569239
  • CHK2-independent induction of telomere dysfunction checkpoints in stem and progenitor cells. Nalapareddy K, Choudhury AR, Gompf A et al. EMBO Rep. 2010 Jun 25. PMID: 20577265
  • Transcriptome analysis and tumor suppressor requirements of STAT5-induced senescence. Mallette FA, Moiseeva O, Calabrese V et al. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010 Jun. PMID: 20536843
  • Hot Topics in Stem Cells and Self-Renewal: 2010. Sharpless NE. Aging Cell. 2010 Jun 24. PMID: 20579010
  • The Werner syndrome protein suppresses telomeric instability caused by chromium (VI) induced DNA replication stress. Liu FJ, Barchowsky A, Opresko PL. PLoS One. 2010 Jun 16. PMID: 20585393
  • Synchrony of Telomere Length among Hematopoietic Cells. Kimura M, Gazitt Y, Cao X et al. Exp Hematol. 2010 Jun 25. PMID: 20600576
  • Role of progerin-induced telomere dysfunction in HGPS premature cellular senescence. Benson EK, Lee SW, Aaronson SA. J Cell Sci. 2010 Jul 6. PMID: 20605919
  • LIM-domain proteins TRIP6 and LPP associate with shelterin to mediate telomere protection. Sheppard SA, Loayza D. Aging (Albany NY). 2010 Jul 14. PMID: 20634563
  • Role of methylation of the hMLH1 gene promoter in the development of gastric and colorectal carcinoma in the elderly. Arai T, Kasahara I, Sawabe M et al. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2010 Jul. PMID: 20590835
  • Changes of telomere length with aging. Takubo K, Aida J, Izumiyama-Shimomura N et al. Geriatr Gerontol Int. 2010 Jul. PMID: 20590834
  • No Evidence for Shorter Leukocyte Telomere Length in Parkinson's Disease Patients. Eerola J, Kananen L, Manninen K et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 Jul 16. PMID: 20639300
  • Telomere Biology in Metazoa. Gomes NM, Shay JW, Wright WE. FEBS Lett. 2010 Jul 22. PMID: 20655915
  • Rad3 Decorates Critical Chromosomal Domains with gammaH2A to Protect Genome Integrity during S-Phase in Fission Yeast. Rozenzhak S, Mejía-Ramírez E, Williams JS et al. PLoS Genet. 2010 Jul 22. PMID: 20661445

by Chris Smelick at biologicalgerontology.com
copyright 2003-2009