Abstract:Telomeres are protective caps found at chromosomal ends that act to prevent attrition of the genome and aberrant activation of DNA repair mechanisms. In somatic cells, telomeric DNA progressively shortens with rounds of replication until a critically short length is reached triggering the cell to undergo senescence to prevent loss of genomic information. However, some cells express telomerase to elongate telomeres and avoid reaching this critical length, thus instilling additional replicative capacity. Notably… Show more
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