Search results for "Telomere"

Understanding ageing: Biomedical and bioengineering approaches, the immunologic view

2008

Abstract During the past century, humans have gained more years of average life expectancy than in the last 10,000 years; we are now living in a rapidly ageing world. The sharp rise in life expectancy, coupled to a steady decline in birth rates in all developed countries, has led to an unprecedented demographic revolution characterized by an explosive growth in the number and proportion of older people. Ageing is a complex process that negatively impacts the development of the immune system and its ability to function. Progressive changes in the T and B cell systems over the life span have a major impact on the capacity to respond to immune challenge. These cumulative age-associated changes…

Sperm Telomere Length in Men with Normal and Abnormal semen Parameters. A Pilot Study

2019

Objective: Male infertility is a growing social problem. The measurement of telomere length may be a new marker that can help to assess reproductive age of males and assess the chances of in vitro fertilization. Aim: The aim of our study was to investigate whether there are any differences between telomere length in men with normal and abnormal semen parameters. Materials and Methods: Telomere length was analyzed in 17 patients with normal and 28 patients with abnormal semen parameters using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol and Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). Results: Mean sperm telomere length in all donors was 49±24kbp per haploid genome. However, patie…

Loss of the Sin3A/Rpd3 Histone De-Acetylase Complex Causes Telomeric Fusions

2009

Loss of the Sin3A/Rpd3 Histone De-Acetylase Complex Causes Polytene Chromosome Telomeric Fusions

2009

Array-CGH and clinical characterization in a patient with subtelomeric 6p deletion without ocular dysgenesis

2011

Subtelomeric terminal 6p deletion has been recognized as a clinically identifiable syndrome including facial dysmorphism, malformation of the anterior eye chamber, hearing loss, heart defect and developmental delay. Genotype –phenotype correlations of previously published patients have been strongly suggested anterior eye segment anomalies as one of major malformation of the syndrome if the critical 6p25 region containing the FOXC 1 gene. In addition it has been hypothesized the presence in this region of one or more genes involved in hearing loss. We report on a case of terminal 6p deletion in a 47, XYY karyotype. Further characterization of the deletion with array comparative genome hybri…

Isolation and characterization of Oct-4+/HLA-G+ mesenchymal stem cells from human umbilical cord matrix: differentiation potential and detection of n…

2008

The presence of multipotent cells in several adult and embryo-related tissues opened new paths for their use in regenerative medicine. Extraembryonic tissues such as umbilical cord are considered a promising source of stem cells, potentially useful in therapy. The characterization of cells from the umbilical cord matrix (Wharton''s Jelly) and amniotic membrane revealed the presence of a population of mesenchymal-like cells, sharing a set of core-markers expressed by "mesenchymal stem cells". Several reports enlightened the differentiation capabilities of these cells, even if at times the lack of an extensive characterization of surface markers and immune co-stimulators expression revealed h…

Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Delays Aging in Cancer-Resistant Mice

2008

Summary Telomerase confers limitless proliferative potential to most human cells through its ability to elongate telomeres, the natural ends of chromosomes, which otherwise would undergo progressive attrition and eventually compromise cell viability. However, the role of telomerase in organismal aging has remained unaddressed, in part because of the cancer-promoting activity of telomerase. To circumvent this problem, we have constitutively expressed telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), one of the components of telomerase, in mice engineered to be cancer resistant by means of enhanced expression of the tumor suppressors p53, p16, and p19ARF. In this context, TERT overexpression improves …

Theories and Mechanisms of Aging

2013

The more one learns about single processes and genes known to be involved in aging, the more it becomes evident that these are connected and there is no unifying theory of aging. The individual theories put individual factors and processes in focus and for each theory there are direct links to life span or to age-related disorders. In the following chapter, the key theories of aging focusing on telomeres, DNA damage, oxidative stress as well as possible roles of nutrition, the interplay between genes and environment (epigenetics) and cellular protein homeostasis are presented. In animal models the life span can be altered by targeting specific genes, proteins and signalling pathways. After …

Telomere Length in Circulating Leukocytes is Associated with Lung Function and Disease

2014

Several clinical studies suggest the involvement of premature ageing processes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Using an epidemiological approach, we studied whether accelerated ageing indicated by telomere length, a marker of biological age, is associated with COPD and asthma, and whether intrinsic age-related processes contribute to the interindividual variability of lung function. Our meta-analysis of 14 studies included 934 COPD cases with 15 846 controls defined according to the Global Lungs Initiative (GLI) criteria (or 1189 COPD cases according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria), 2834 asthma cases with 28 195 controls, and s…

Corticotroph aggressive pituitary tumours and carcinomas frequently harbour ATRX mutations

2021

Abstract Context Aggressive pituitary tumors (APTs) are characterized by unusually rapid growth and lack of response to standard treatment. About 1% to 2% develop metastases being classified as pituitary carcinomas (PCs). For unknown reasons, the corticotroph tumors are overrepresented among APTs and PCs. Mutations in the alpha thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) gene, regulating chromatin remodeling and telomere maintenance, have been implicated in the development of several cancer types, including neuroendocrine tumors. Objective To study ATRX protein expression and mutational status of the ATRX gene in APTs and PCs. Design We investigated ATRX protein expression by us…