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Updated: Jul 27, 2026

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity; A Yin and Yang of Cell Senescence
Published on: May 22, 2013
Change in telomerase activity of rat organs during growth and aging
Y Yamaguchi1, K Nozawa, E Savoysky
1First Department of Surgery, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Abstract:
Telomerase activity is usually undetectable in adult human tissues, but is positive in embryonic tissues and in cancers. In rodents, however, several organs of normal adult animals express substantial amounts of telomerase activity. In this study, we observed the changes in the telomerase activity in rat organs during growth and aging and found that telomerase activity showed chronological patterns which were characteristic to organs. In lung and brain, the high telomerase activity of embryonic stage decreased rapidly after birth. In lymphoid tissues, telomerase activity increased after birth and reached to its maximum at 4 to 7 week. In liver, it stayed at nearly constant level throughout life. The telomerase activity in regenerating rat liver decreased temporally immediately after partial hepatectomy, then increased to a level that is higher than normal control. In contrast, it rapidly diminished in the occluded lobes after ligation of portal vein branch.
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