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What are telomeres?
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Chromosomes are located in the
nucleus of a cell. At the ends of
each chromosome are telomeres,
shown here in green. |
Inside the nucleus of virtually all of our cells are chromosomes, 46 in all. At the tips of these chromosomes are telomeres — think of the hard ends of your shoelaces. While they do not contain genes, telomeres are important for replication or duplication of the chromosomes during cell division. They are made up of 1,000 to 2,000 copies of a repeated DNA sequence, TTAGGG. Each time a normal cell divides, its telomeres are cut just a bit shorter, until eventually they are so short that no further cell division can occur. Cells with critically short telomeres become senescent, unable to divide further, and eventually malfunction. Some even die. While some have likened this to a genetic biological clock, others have described telomeres as a fuse that becomes shorter and shorter, until it sets off a kind of cellular time bomb that wreaks havoc on the cell's internal workings. Today, researchers continue to probe the telomeric "timepiece," hoping to better understand the aging process and fight diseases, particularly cancer.
Content on Infoaging is constantly reviewed and updated by leading researchers specializing in the biology of aging and the diseases of aging. For a list of our content experts, click here.
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