Kierszenbaum A L
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomical Sciences, The City University of New York Medical School, New York, New York 10031, USA.
Mol Reprod Dev. 2000 Sep;57(1):2-3. doi: 10.1002/1098-2795(200009)57:1<2::AID-MRD2>3.0.CO;2-R.
Telomeres are specialized natural ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that, contrary to the ends of broken chromosomes, are stable and do not fuse with the ends of other chromosomes. In addition, telomeres protect chromosomal ends from degradation, facilitate completion of chromosomal DNA replication, and contribute to chromosome positioning within nuclei. Telomeric DNA consists of repetitive sequences and specific associated proteins, including the telomere repeat-binding factors TRF1 and TRF2. A lack of TRF2 enables end-to-end chromosome fusion. A structural disruption of telomeres not only causes chromosomal mechanical instability but also activates a programmed cell death cascade.
端粒是真核生物染色体特化的天然末端，与断裂染色体的末端不同，它们是稳定的，不会与其他染色体的末端融合。此外，端粒可保护染色体末端不被降解，促进染色体DNA复制的完成，并有助于染色体在细胞核内的定位。端粒DNA由重复序列和特定的相关蛋白组成，包括端粒重复序列结合因子TRF1和TRF2。缺乏TRF2会导致染色体端对端融合。端粒的结构破坏不仅会导致染色体机械不稳定，还会激活程序性细胞死亡级联反应。
