Telomere Length

Telomeres are protective structures at chromosome ends made of repetitive nucleotide sequences. They prevent loss or damage of chromosome ends during cell division.

Telomeres shorten with each division; at critically short lengths, cells enter senescence or apoptosis, making telomere length a key indicator of biological age.

Shorter telomeres link to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and age-related conditions. Telomerase activity declines with age, accelerating telomere shortening.

qPCR is common for telomere measurement; long-read NGS (e.g., Oxford Nanopore) provides deeper insight into telomere structure and modifications.

References

• Ghimire S, Hill CV, Sy FS, Rodriguez R. Decline in telomere length by age… PLoS One. 2019.
• Cawthon RM. Telomere measurement by quantitative PCR. Nucleic Acids Res. 2002.
• O'Callaghan NJ, Fenech M. A quantitative PCR method for measuring absolute telomere length. Biological Procedures Online. 2011.
• Hastings WJ, et al. Comparing qPCR and DNA methylation-based measurements of telomere length… Aging. 2022.
• Aubert G, et al. Collapse of telomere homeostasis in hematopoietic cells… PLoS Genetics. 2012.
• Schmidt, T.T., et al. (2024). High resolution long-read telomere sequencing reveals dynamic mechanisms in aging and cancer. Nat Commun 15, 5149.