Monthly Archives: October 2022
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- October 07, 2022
Telomere “caps” are located at the ends of all chromosomes, including those of the immune system’s T-lymphocytes (T cells), and become shorter with every cell division. Once these chromosomes reach a point where the telomere is too short to provide adequate protection, division ceases and the cell proceeds to senescence. The loss of immune cells to this process negatively impacts the functionality of the immune system, leading to chronic health conditions and/or cancerous diseases. This process is one of the primary factors related to aging, and current dogma suggests that the only way to counteract telomere shortening is through the DNA synthesizing enzyme telomerase. However, an exciting new study published in Nature Cell Biology has identified a previously unknown mechanism of combating telomere aging.
In the paper, titled “An intercellular transfer of telomeres rescues T cells from senescence and promotes long-term immunological memory”, Lanna et al. found that during T cell immune
