What are telomeres and how do they protect our cells?

What are telomeres? Telomeres are protective caps, found at the ends of our chromosomes. They’re thought to play a major role in aging by limiting the number of times most of the cells in our body can divide. They help protect our genome and defend our bodies from developing cancer.

This is the first in a short series of videos where we explore telomeres, telomere length and telomerase, as well as the impacts they have on our health.

Chapters:
00:00 What are telomeres?
00:55 Why do telomeres shorten?
01:29 How does telomere shortening protect against cancer?
01:54 How does telomerase affect telomere length?
02:36 Would more telomerase help stop aging?

Watch the next episode on how telomere shortening affects aging:    • How telomere shortening affects aging  

RepeatDx is a leading clinical laboratory for telomere length testing. You can find out more on our website: https://repeatdx.com/

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References
1. de Lange, T. Shelterin-Mediated Telomere Protection. Annu Rev Genet. 52, 223-247, doi:10.1146/annurev-genet-032918-021921 (2018).
2. Aubert, G., Baerlocher, G. M., Vulto, I., Poon, S. S. & Lansdorp, P. M. Collapse of telomere homeostasis in hematopoietic cells caused by heterozygous mutations in telomerase genes. PLoS Genet 8, e1002696, doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1002696 (2012).
3. Lansdorp, P,M. Telomeres, aging, and cancer: the big picture. Blood; 139 (6): 813–821, doi:10.1182/blood.2021014299 (2022).