Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Utilizing Murine Inducible Telomerase Alleles in the Studies of Tissue Degeneration/Regeneration and Cancer
Published on: April 13, 2015
Time, telomeres and tumours: is cellular senescence more than an anticancer mechanism?
1University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dept of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75235-9039, USA.
Abstract:
Normal diploid cells, by definition, have a limited life span: they senesce after a set number of divisions both in vivo and in culture. It has been hypothesized that the molecular mechanism that measures the life span of a cell probably involves the shortening of telomeres that occurs with each round of DNA replication. This loss of telomeres is thought to induce antiproliferative signals that result in the induction of cellular senescence. In this article, Woodring Wright and Jerry Shay present a hypothesis for the mechanisms by which telomere shortening regulates cellular physiology and argue that cellular senescence is not only an anticancer mechanism but is also the cause of many of the degenerative changes of aging.
Related Concept Videos
Telomeres and Telomerase
Replicative Cell Senescence
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...
Telomeres and Telomerase
Replicative Cell Senescence
Adaptive Mechanisms in Cancer Cells
Some of the advantages that cancer cells have on normal cells include - enhanced ability to divide without terminally differentiating, induce new blood vessel formation,...

