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Developing BIOTEL: A Semi-Automated Spreadsheet for Estimating Telomere Length and Biological Age
Aristidis Tsatsakis1, Dimitrios Tsoukalas1,2, Persefoni Fragkiadaki1
1Laboratory of Toxicology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.
Frontiers in Genetics
|March 7, 2019
Summary
BIOTEL is a new tool that analyzes telomere length (TL) statistics and estimates biological age. This semi-automated worksheet helps researchers study aging and age-related diseases more effectively.
Area of Science:
- Genetics and Molecular Biology
- Gerontology and Aging Research
Background:
- Telomere length (TL) is a critical factor in aging and age-related diseases.
- Short telomeres and their shortening rate significantly impact cellular homeostasis.
- Advanced tools are needed to analyze telomere data for aging research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop BIOTEL, a semi-automated worksheet for analyzing telomere length (TL) statistics.
- To enable the estimation of biological age using TL data.
- To provide researchers with a tool for improved aging and telomere research.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Telomere Length Database Project (TLDP).
- Employed three-dimensional quantitative-fluorescent in situ hybridization (3D Q-FISH) with a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe to measure telomere fluorescence intensities in leukocytes.
- Developed a semi-automated worksheet (BIOTEL ver. 2.4) to process raw fluorescence, demographic, and clinical data.
Main Results:
- BIOTEL generates comprehensive TL statistics, including percentiles and distribution charts.
- The tool visualizes the percentage of critically short telomeres (< 3,000 kilobases).
- BIOTEL provides individual telomere profiles and plots biological age against chronological age.
Conclusions:
- BIOTEL ver. 2.4 is a functional tool for calculating diverse TL statistics.
- The worksheet aids in the estimation of biological age.
- BIOTEL offers valuable applications for research in telomere dynamics and aging.
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