The role of telomerase expression and telomere length maintenance in human and mouse

The molecular regulation of telomere length has been well elucidated by a series of elegant studies over the past decade. More recently, experimental evidence has accrued that addresses the challenging question of if and how telomere length regulation may contribute to normal human aging or to human disease. Recent studies in mice have provided a mammalian precedent indicating that telomerase deficiency can lead to in vivo dysfunction, most probably as a consequence of progressive telomere shortening. In humans, the evidence that telomere shortening might lead to in vivo dysfunction is far less direct, although the recent description of telomerase deficiency and telomere shortening associated with the DKC syndrome is suggestive of such a link. Methodologies exist and continue to be developed that are increasingly capable of manipulating telomerase activity and telomere length in human cells. It remains to be determined whether scientifically rigorous and (equally important) medically ethical approaches will emerge to directly assess the ability of telomere length modulation to correct functional disorders of human cellular function ex vivo or more challenging still, in vivo.