Dynamics of Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity in the Human Fetal Liver at 5–12 Weeks of Gestation

Abstract

Fetal stem cell- (FSC-) based therapy is a promising treatment option for many diseases. The differentiation potential of FSCs is greater than that in adult stem cells, and they are more tissue-specific and have lower immunogenicity and better intrinsic homing than embryonic ones. Embryonic stem cells have higher proliferative potential than FSCs but can cause teratomas. Therefore, an evaluation of this potential represents an important biomedical challenge. Since regulation of telomere length (TL) is one mechanism governing cellular proliferation, TL is a useful surrogate marker for cell replicative potential. The prenatal dynamics of TL, however, has never been comprehensively studied. In the present study, dynamics of TL and telomerase activity in the human fetal liver during 5–12 weeks of gestation is examined. Both TL and telomerase activity were positively correlated with week of gestation. For both parameters studied, the trend to increase was evident up to 10th week of gestation. After that, they reached a plateau and remained stable. These findings indicate that telomerase activity remains high during the fetal stage, suggesting high replicative capacity of FSCs and their considerable potential for transplantation therapies. These findings, however, are preliminary only due to small sample size and require further evaluation.

Telomere Length as a Marker of Biological Age: State-of-the-Art, Open Issues, and Future Perspectives

“…A decrease in TL and telomerase activity throughout 6–11 weeks of human gestation was observed by Cheng et al ( 2013 ); after that, they both remained rather constant until birth. In the study by Sorochynska et al ( 2018 ), however, both TL and telomerase activity were shown to increase between 5 and 10 weeks of gestation. After that, they reached a plateau and remained constant up to gestational week 12.…”

Biochemical and Molecular Studies of Different Parameters as Markers for Nephropathy in Type 1 Diabetic Patients

“…Telomeres are repetitive nucleotide sequences at each end of a chromosome [6], composed of double strands of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), in humans, the sequence of nucleotides in telomeres is TTAGGG, with the complementary DNA strand being AATCCC except for each end, a single-stranded TTAGGG called telomere overhangs [7]. There are many studies that had linked shorter telomeres to health behaviors, such as smoking, aging, and age-related diseases including coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer [8].…”

Aging Process in Dermal Fibroblast Cell Culture of Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

“…In all human organs, except reproductive organs such as testis, telomerase activity does not exist after birth [8], as well as in cultured condition [21]. Allegedly green turtles have a special mechanism that does not exist in human to increase telomere length and telomerase activity with age.…”

“…The presence of telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein, prevents telomere shortening because telomerase adds extra TAGGG base to telomere end [7]. In mammals, telomerase is no longer expressed in adult tissues [8], except in cancer [9] and stem cells [10]. Hence, analysis of telomere length and telomerase activity could be markers of aging in cell culture.…”