They come with hidden downsides
that form a protective cap to prevent damage to the genetic material. However, telomeres shorten each time a cell divides. This means that as cells divide more and more as you age, your telomeres become increasingly shorter and more likely to lose their ability to protect your DNA.
Damage to genetic material can lead to mutations that cause cells to divide uncontrollably, resulting in cancer. Cells avoid becoming cancerous when their telomeres become too short after dividing too many times and potentially accruing damage along the way, however, by entering a zombielike state that stops cells from dividing through a process calledBecause they are resistant to death, senescent – or “zombie” – cells accumulate with age.
We wanted to know if direct damage to telomeres can be sufficient to trigger senescence and make zombie cells. In order to figure this out, we needed to confine damage just to the telomeres. So we attached a protein to the telomeres of human cells grown in the lab. Then we added a dye to the protein that makes it sensitive to light.
– highly reactive molecules that can damage DNA – right at the telomeres, sparing the rest of the chromosome and the cell.We found that direct damage to the telomeres was sufficient to turn cells into zombies, even when these protective caps weren’t shortened. The reason for this, we discovered, was likely a result ofWhy it matters
Telomeres naturally shorten with age. They limit how many times a cell can divide by signaling cells to become zombies when they reach a certain length. But an excess of free radicals produced from both normal bodily processes as well as exposure to harmful chemicals like air pollution and tobacco smoke can lead to a condition called
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