Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 1997 Feb;214(2):99-106.
doi: 10.3181/00379727-214-44075.

Replicative senescence and cell immortality: the role of telomeres and telomerase

C P Chiu  1 , C B Harley
Affiliations
Review

Replicative senescence and cell immortality: the role of telomeres and telomerase

C P Chiu et al. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1997 Feb.

Abstract

Telomere shortening is correlated with cell senescence in vitro and cell aging in vivo. The telomere hypothesis suggests that telomere length serves as a mitotic clock for timing cellular replicative life span. Expression of telomerase stabilizes telomere length and allows for continual replication, or cell immortality. This article reviews recent evidences for the role of telomere length and telomerase in the regulation of cellular replicative life span. The therapeutic potential of manipulating telomerase expression and telomere length is also discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources