Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Telomere end-replication problem and cell aging.

M Z Levy1, R C Allsopp, A B Futcher

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Journal of Molecular Biology
|June 20, 1992
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Antibiotic residues in milk from small dairy farms in rural Peru.

Food additives & contaminants. Part A, Chemistry, analysis, control, exposure & risk assessment·2014
Same author

Comparison of two methods for collecting antibiotic use data on small dairy farms.

Preventive veterinary medicine·2014
Same author

The use of antibiotics on small dairy farms in rural Peru.

Preventive veterinary medicine·2013
Same author

Control of recombination within and between DNA plasmids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Current genetics·2013
Same author

Loss of 2 um DNA from Saccharomyces cerevisiae transformed with the chimaeric plasmid pJDB219.

Current genetics·2013
Same author

The role of veterinarians and feed-store vendors in the prescription and use of antibiotics on small dairy farms in rural Peru.

Journal of dairy science·2013
Same journal

UPF3A and UPF3B shape the transcriptome cooperatively yet oppose cell function.

Journal of molecular biology·2026
Same journal

Antibody-secreting cells integrate efficient NMD with non‑canonical UPR signaling to maintain proteostasis and support massive immunoglobulin synthesis.

Journal of molecular biology·2026
Same journal

Small molecule stabilization of diverse amyloidogenic immunoglobulin light chains revealed by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry.

Journal of molecular biology·2026
Same journal

UPF1 at Work: Structural and Mechanistic Insights Into a Master Regulator of Nonsense-Mediated mRNA Decay.

Journal of molecular biology·2026
Same journal

Structural basis for the pro-amyloidogenic action and ligand binding of a novel W72R variant of human apolipoprotein A-I.

Journal of molecular biology·2026
Same journal

Cryo-EM Structure of the C. Elegans Septin Tetramer Reveals a Revised Architecture and Conserved Positional Orthology.

Journal of molecular biology·2026
See all related articles

Cell division leads to telomere shortening due to incomplete DNA replication. This telomere loss, particularly in somatic cells lacking telomerase, contributes to cellular aging and senescence.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • DNA polymerase requires primers for synthesis, leading to incomplete replication at chromosome ends.
  • This "end-replication problem" results in telomere shortening in dividing cells.
  • Telomere shortening is linked to cellular aging and senescence, especially in somatic cells lacking telomerase.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model the consequences of incomplete DNA replication on telomere length in dividing cells.
  • To investigate the relationship between telomere loss and cellular senescence.
  • To understand the factors contributing to variation in telomere length.

Main Methods:

  • Mathematical modeling of DNA replication and telomere dynamics in a cell population.
  • Analysis of telomere length changes per cell division.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Comparison of model predictions with experimental data on fibroblast senescence.

    • Main Results:

    • Mean telomere length decreases by 0.25 to 0.5 deletion events per generation, depending on overhang degradation.
    • Fibroblast telomere loss of ~50 base pairs/generation suggests deletion events of 100-200 base pairs.
    • Cellular senescence after 80 doublings involves ~4000 base pair telomere loss, with significant variation.
    • Model predicts telomere length variation consistent with abrupt cell cycle exit.

    Conclusions:

    • Incomplete replication is a significant driver of telomere loss in somatic cells.
    • Telomere shortening can explain cell cycle exit and senescence in human fibroblasts.
    • Interchromosomal variation in telomere length also contributes to observed terminal restriction fragment length variations.