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Review
. 2011 May;120(10):427-40.
doi: 10.1042/CS20100385.

Healthy aging and disease: role for telomere biology?

Haidong Zhu  1 , Matthew Belcher, Pim van der Harst
Affiliations
Review

Healthy aging and disease: role for telomere biology?

Haidong Zhu et al. Clin Sci (Lond). 2011 May.

Abstract

Aging is a biological process that affects most cells, organisms and species. Human aging is associated with increased susceptibility to a variety of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, neurological diseases and cancer. Despite the remarkable progress made during the last two decades, our understanding of the biology of aging remains incomplete. Telomere biology has recently emerged as an important player in the aging and disease process.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Simplified diagram depicting the structure of the telomere and its location on the chromosome and in the cell
This Figure was reproduced from Huzen, J., van Veldhuisen, D.J., van Gilst, W.H. and van der Harst, P. (2008), Telomeres and biological ageing in cardiovascular disease, Ned. Tijdschr. Geneeskd., vol. 152, pp. 1265–1270, with permission from the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Simplified scheme depicting the terminal end of the telomere concealing the terminal single-stranded part with help of the shelterin complex
This Figure was reproduced from Huzen, J., van Veldhuisen, D.J., van Gilst, W.H. and van der Harst, P. (2008), Telomeres and biological ageing in cardiovascular disease, Ned. Tijdschr. Geneeskd., vol. 152, pp. 1265–1270, with permission from the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Schematic overview of telomerase
Active telomerase is composed from two RNA complexes (TERC; only one depicted) and two telomere reverse transcriptases (TERC; one depicted) stabilized by dyskerin. This Figure was reproduced from Huzen, J., van Veldhuisen, D.J., van Gilst, W.H. and van der Harst, P. (2008), Telomeres and biological ageing in cardiovascular disease, Ned. Tijdschr. Geneeskd., vol. 152, pp. 1265–1270, with permission from the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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