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Review
. 2019 Jan 19;8(1):73.
doi: 10.3390/cells8010073.

Telomere Biology and Human Phenotype

Kara J Turner  1 , Vimal Vasu  2   3 , Darren K Griffin  4
Affiliations
Review

Telomere Biology and Human Phenotype

Kara J Turner et al. Cells. .

Abstract

Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures that cap the end of each chromosome arm and function to maintain genome stability. The length of telomeres is known to shorten with each cell division and it is well-established that telomere attrition is related to replicative capacity in vitro. Moreover, telomere loss is also correlated with the process of aging in vivo. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms that lead to telomere shortening and summarise telomere homeostasis in humans throughout a lifetime. In addition, we discuss the available evidence that shows that telomere shortening is related to human aging and the onset of age-related disease.

Keywords: aging; senescence; telomere length; telomeres.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the preparation or writing of the manuscript or in the decision to publish this review.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The T-loop and the D-loop. The 3′ end of the G rich strand (blue) protrudes as a single stranded extension of the telomere. This G-strand overhang loops back to form a T-loop and invades the 5′ double stranded telomeric duplex, forming a D-loop.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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