1.Telomerase
Telomeres play a crucial role in cellular replication, with the loss of telomeres cell is unable to divide. Replicative senescence which is cell incapability to divide was first defined by Hayflick (Hayflick,2000). Hayflick observed that after a several number of cell divisions cells in culture ceased to propagate.
1.1 Telomerase maintenance
Cells can attain immortality by two telomere maintenance mechanisms, the first pathway includes an action of ribonucleoprotein enzyme complex telomerase. Telomerase helps in the elongation of telomeres through nucleotide addition by catalyzing the de novo synthesis of TTAGGG repeats, thereby counteract shortening, of telomeres and allow indefinite cell proliferation. The telomerase levels
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Genetic mutations occurring in any of these three telomerase genes- TERT, TER, or dyskerin; or telomerase-associated proteins can result in compromised activity of telomerase resulting in low levels of telomerase and insufficient telomere maintenance. This can manifest in one of a number of telomere syndromes such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and dyskeratosis congenita (DC) (Tomlinson et …show more content…
Even a single TERT treatment was sufficient in mice to emancipate the age-dependent degeneration and to hold the morphological aging of mouse. By performing the experiment, upto 24% increase in lifespan of 1 year old mice and in animals of age 2 years extension of 13% was observed. This study validates that with the use of gene therapy change in telomerase expression could be considered as a practicable approach for protracting lifespan without the increase in