PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Telomeres are located at the ends of chromosomes and have specific sequences with a distinctive structure that safeguards genes. They possess capping structures that protect chromosome ends from fusion events and ensure chromosome stability. Telomeres shorten in length during each cycle of cell division. When this length reaches a certain threshold, it can lead to genomic instability, thus being implicated in various diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. The possibility of telomeres serving as a biomarker for aging and age-related disease is being explored, and their significance is still under study. This is because post-mitotic cells, which are mature cells that do not undergo mitosis, do not experience telomere shortening due to age. Instead, other causes, for example, exposure to oxidative stress, can directly damage the telomeres, causing genomic instability. Nonetheless, a general agreement has been established that measuring telomere length offers valuable insights and forms a crucial foundation for analyzing gene expression and epigenetic data. Numerous approaches have been developed to accurately measure telomere lengths. In this review, we summarize various methods and their advantages and limitations for assessing telomere length.
摘要：
端粒位于染色体的末端，具有具有保护基因的独特结构的特定序列。它们具有保护染色体末端免受融合事件并确保染色体稳定性的加帽结构。端粒在细胞分裂的每个周期中长度缩短。当这个长度达到某个阈值时，它会导致基因组不稳定，因此牵涉到各种疾病，包括癌症和神经退行性疾病。正在探索端粒作为衰老和年龄相关疾病的生物标志物的可能性，其意义仍在研究中。这是因为有丝分裂后的细胞，它们是不经历有丝分裂的成熟细胞，不要因年龄而经历端粒缩短。相反，其他原因,例如,暴露于氧化应激，会直接损伤端粒,导致基因组不稳定。尽管如此，已经建立了一个普遍的共识，即测量端粒长度提供了有价值的见解，并为分析基因表达和表观遗传数据奠定了重要的基础。已经开发了许多方法来精确测量端粒长度。在这次审查中,我们总结了评估端粒长度的各种方法及其优点和局限性。
