Telomere shortening is proportional to the size of the G-rich telomeric 3'-overhang

Kenneth E. Huffman, Stephen D. Levene, Valerie M. Tesmer, Jerry W. Shay, Woodring E. Wright

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

224 Scopus citations

Abstract

Most normal diploid human cells do not express telomerase activity and are unable to maintain telomere length with ongoing cell divisions. We show that the length of the single-stranded G-rich telomeric 3'-overhang is proportional to the rate of shortening in four human cell types that exhibit different rates of telomere shortening in culture. These results provide direct evidence that the size of the G-rich overhang is not fixed but subject to regulation. The potential ability to manipulate this rate has profound implications both for slowing the rate of replicative aging in normal cells and for accelerating the rate of telomere loss in cancer cells in combination with anti-telomerase therapies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)19719-19722
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume275
Issue number26
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 30 2000

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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