Telomerase is a type of enzyme that helps protect the ends of our chromosomes, called telomeres. It adds extra DNA sequences to these telomeres, which prevents them from getting shorter during cell division. This is important because shorter telomeres can be associated with aging and certain diseases. Overall,
telomerase plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and health of our cells.
Full definition
The activity of
telomerase in adult stem cells merely slows down the countdown of the molecular clock and does not completely immortalize these cells.
As in the former case, after being treated with
telomerase gene therapy «the telomeres in the peripheral blood in these mice also lengthened and the number of blood cells increased considerably,» write the authors.
The variant lies near a gene
called telomerase RNA component, or TERC, and earlier studies in animals have shown that low TERC expression is associated with shorter telomeres, and faster biological aging.
Using PET scanning, they saw that KKM resulted in 19 genes being up - regulated and 49 genes being down - regulated, resulting in the production of fewer inflammatory mediators, and
increased telomerase activity by almost 50 %.
Building on this «telomere hypothesis,» Geron's big idea was that tinkering
with telomerase in cells could stave off their senescence — and prevent aging.
To learn how cells switch on ALT, the group experimentally eliminated two proteins, ASF1a and ASF1b, in normal lung cells and in a cancer cell line that relies
on telomerase for immortality.
In August, 1997, Nobelist Thomas Cech of the University of Colorado at Boulder and colleagues at Geron isolated the human gene
for telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTRT)-- an enzyme that reknits loosening telomeres and extends a cell's life.
Amounts of
telomerase RNA increased in immortal cells derived from primary mouse fibroblasts.
«Our study is the first to indicate changes in
telomerase levels in distressed caregivers with Kirtan Kriya meditation.»
Variants in the gene called
Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT) on chromosome 5 that were associated with older IEAA were also associated with longer telomeres indicating a critical role for TERT in regulating the epigenetic clock, in addition to its established role of compensating for cell replication - dependent telomere shortening.
Our goal is to further elucidate the molecular basis of telomere replication
by telomerase using structural and biochemical approaches.
Inhibiting
telomerase function has been viewed as an ideal way to put the brakes on a wide range of cancers.
If successful across both indications, this experimental drug should easily generate billions in sales and sport a rock - solid competitive moat as the only
telomerase inhibitor on the market.
It is now established that nearly 90 percent of cancers develop a way of reactivating
telomerase as a means of survival.
This catalytic cycle determines the ability of the
human telomerase enzyme to synthesize DNA «repeats» (specific DNA segments of six nucleotides) onto chromosome ends, and so afford immortality in cells.
Thus, the proposed
telomerase catalytic subunits are phylogenetically conserved and represent a deep branch in the evolution of reverse transcriptases.
Lin and Artandi wondered whether they could
use telomerase expression as a marker to identify the subset of cells responsible for regenerating the liver during normal turnover.
Distinct from human stem cells, somatic cells constitute the vast majority of the cells in the human body and
lack telomerase activity.
The findings come on the heels of a March study in the New England Journal of Medicine, which similarly
discovered telomerase mutations in fibrosis patients.
Tocotrienols
inhibit telomerase activity in human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells in a time - and dose - dependent manner.
«Knowing whether our telomeres are a normal length or not for a given chronological age will give us an indication of our health status and of our physiological «age» even before diseases appear,» says María A. Blasco, who heads the Telomeres and
Telomerase Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center and who co-founded the company Life Length in September.
Blasco suspects that cloning can lead to chemical modification of DNA, possibly blocking
telomerase from its target.
Augmenting and
regulating telomerase function will have to be performed with precision, walking a narrow line between cell rejuvenation and a heightened risk for cancer development.
To understand
how telomerase RNA participates in mechanistic aspects of telomere synthesis, we studied a conserved secondary structure adjacent to the template.
The ability to increase or
decrease telomerase activity has important implications for treating cancers in which insufficient numbers of blood cells are produced.
In their research project in 2012, the researchers substantially delayed the aging of mice by enabling their cells to
produce telomerase once again for a period of time.
Instead, our study shows that an anti-aging therapy based on
telomerase expression would be accompanied by continued aging.»
In recent years, a number of factors essential for
telomerase regulation and telomere maintenance have been identified.
So far, studies suggest that
more telomerase production can result in longer life and increased immune function.
Given the key role
telomerase plays in several degenerative diseases and cancer, it is pivotal that we gain a better understanding of how the enzyme is made, recruited to chromosome ends and regulated... Read more
While telomerase production decreases almost entirely in healthy adult cells, it increases in cancerous cells.
«Obviously, this information can be used in our efforts to identify drug therapies that kill cancer cells by
targeting telomerase activity.»
The method by
which telomerase and associated regulatory factors physically interact and function with each other to maintain appropriate telomere length is poorly understood.
The FTC charged
Telomerase Activation Sciences, Inc. and Noel Patton (collectively, TA Sciences) with lacking the scientific evidence to support claims that their capsules, powders, and creams could provide a broad range of anti-aging and other health benefits.
Hockemeyer and his UC Berkeley colleagues, in collaboration with dermatopathologist Boris Bastian and his colleagues at UCSF, found that immortalization is a two - step process, driven initially by a mutation that
turns telomerase on, but at a very low level.
We used chemicals, like the AIDS drug AZT, that interfere with the activity of reverse transcriptase enzymes
like telomerase.
F: Demonstrates that extensive serial dilutions of central - intermediate and peripheral area HCECs only
show telomerase activity in the endothelial peripheral area as taken from mixed aged donors (21 - 52 years).
Shorter telomeres with
high telomerase activity are associated with raised allostatic load and impoverished psychosocial resources
Our AST - VAC immunotherapy programs employ three common elements of dendritic cells,
telomerase antigen, and the LAMP signal sequence to stimulate robust and specific immune responses to cancer cells (Figure 1).
Previously, biologists knew ALT existed simply because tumor cells could rebuild long, albeit unkempt - looking telomeres
without telomerase.
Researchers hoped that
adding telomerase would keep cells dividing long enough to replace tissues lost to injury or disease.
Phrases with «telomerase»