Telomeres are 'caps' of DNA located at the ends of chromosomes that shorten as cells divide. The loss of telomeres is associated with tissue atrophy, stem cell depletion, organ failure and impaired injury response, and this structural and functional decline accelerates with age. Scientists have wondered whether restoring telomere function could slow or even stop age-related degeneration. Now, a group of researchers led by Ronald A. DePinho (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) has addressed this question by reactivating telomerase in adult mice with severe telomere dysfunction.
In these adult mice, telomerase was reactivated for one month, and the mice were examined one month later. DePinho's team found that the telomerase reactivation extended telomeres; eliminated atrophy of multiple organs, including testes, spleens and intestines; restored fecundity; and reversed neurodegeneration in the mice (Nature doi:10.1038/nature09603; published online 28 November 2010).
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