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Telomeres Shortening: A Mere Replicometer?

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Cellular Ageing and Replicative Senescence

Part of the book series: Healthy Ageing and Longevity ((HAL))

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Abstract

Telomeres are protective structures at the ends of linear chromosomes that play an important role in maintaining genomic stability. Telomere shortening, which occurs with each round of cell division, leads to a permanent proliferation arrest, also known as replicative senescence. This process has been shown to have important implications in vivo as an increase in the frequency of senescent cells occurs in mammalian tissue with age and in a variety of age-related diseases. Telomeres possess unique features, namely the presence of telomere-binding proteins collectively known as “shelterin”, that equally prevent telomere end-to-end fusions and the repair of damage induced by extrinsic and intrinsic stress. This inability to repair damage contributes to the activation of a persistent DNA damage response, which has been shown to be important in the establishment of cellular senescence. Evidence suggests that telomeres not only limit the proliferative potential of cells, but also act as highly sensitive sensors of stress in cells. This may be a protective mechanism against cancer, but also contribute to tissue dysfunction observed during ageing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Newcastle University Institute for Ageing, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, NE4 5PL, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Stella Victorelli & João F. Passos

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  1. Stella Victorelli
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  2. João F. Passos
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Correspondence to João F. Passos .

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  1. Dep of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Suresh I.S. Rattan

  2. Department of Anatomy,School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA

    Leonard Hayflick

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Victorelli, S., Passos, J.F. (2016). Telomeres Shortening: A Mere Replicometer?. In: Rattan, S., Hayflick, L. (eds) Cellular Ageing and Replicative Senescence. Healthy Ageing and Longevity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26239-0_7

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