Telomere and Telomerase

A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA at the end of chromosomes, which protects the end of the chromosome from destruction. Telomeres can be viewed as the tips on the ends of shoelaces that keep them from unraveling. Telomeres compensate for incomplete semi-conservative DNA replication at chromosomal ends. In absence of a reparative process, DNA sequences would be lost in every replicative phase until they reached a critical level, at which point cell division would stop.

Loss of telomeres leads to chromosome end-to-end fusion, chromosome re-arrangements, and genome instability.

Telomerase is a "ribonucleoprotein complex" composed of a protein component and an RNA primer sequence which acts to protect the terminal ends of chromosomes. Telomerase is the natural enzyme which promotes telomere repair. It is however not active in most cells. It certainly is active though in stem cells, germ cells, hair follicles and in 90 percent of cancer cells. Telomerase functions by adding bases to the ends of the telomeres. As a result of this telomerase activity, these cells seem to possess a kind of immortality.

Progressive shortening or attrition of telomere length with consequent genomic instability leading to cancer has been described in various hematological malignancies including acute and chronic myeloid leukemia.

Reduced telomere length has been documented in patients with the progressive BM failure syndrome called Dyskeratosis Congenita. Abnormalities in these patients include skin pigmentation, nail dystrophy and leukoplakia. Mutations in the telomere maintenance mechanism have been implicated in the pathogenesis of this heterogeneous condition.