Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, China; State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.
J Cell Physiol. 2014 Oct;229(10):1323-9. doi: 10.1002/jcp.24537.
Telomeres maintain chromosome stability and cell replicative capacity. Telomere shortening occurs concomitant with aging. Short telomeres are associated with some diseases, such as dyskeratosis congenita, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and aplastic anemia. Telomeres are longer in pluripotent stem cells than in somatic cells and lengthen significantly during preimplantation development. Furthermore, telomere elongation during somatic cell reprogramming is of great importance in the acquisition of authentic pluripotency. This review focuses primarily on regulatory mechanisms of telomere length maintenance in pluripotent cells, telomere length extension in early embryo development, and also telomere rejuvenation in somatic cell reprogramming. Telomere related diseases are also discussed in this review.
端粒维持染色体稳定性和细胞复制能力。端粒缩短与衰老同时发生。短端粒与一些疾病有关，如先天性角化不良、特发性肺纤维化和再生障碍性贫血。多能干细胞中的端粒比体细胞中的端粒长，在着床前发育过程中显著延长。此外，体细胞重编程过程中端粒的延长对于获得真正的多能性非常重要。本综述主要关注多能细胞中端粒长度维持的调节机制、早期胚胎发育中端粒长度的延长以及体细胞重编程中端粒的恢复。本综述还讨论了与端粒相关的疾病。
