Department of Biology, Yeshiva University, 500 W 185th Street, 10033, New York, NY, USA.
Mol Biol Rep. 2021 Jul;48(7):5621-5627. doi: 10.1007/s11033-021-06496-6. Epub 2021 Jul 1.
Telomeres, guanine rich DNA sequences, which are found at both ends of human chromosomes, play a vital role in genome protection. These repetitive nucleotide sequences protect the genome from nucleolytic degradation, unnecessary recombination, and interchromosomal fusion. Though, as somatic cells go through replication cycles, their telomeres shrink until they reach a critical length called the Hayflick limit. At this limit, cellular senescence, an irreversible cell cycle arrest, is prompted. For all the above reasons, telomere length is a hopeful biomarker for age-associated diseases and cancer. While there are numerous methods for telomere measurement and quantification, there are still challenges for routine analysis in clinics as these methods are not simple and rapid. Recently, a new method has been developed that measures absolute length and absolute quantities of single telomere molecules. This method, single telomere absolute-length rapid (STAR) assay, which promises to measure telomere length rapidly and accurately, is also expected to be scalable. This review will discuss different telomere length measurement methods, including STAR assay, and will highlight each of their advantages and drawbacks. It will culminate in determining if STAR assay has the potential to be the superior method for telomere measurement.
端粒是富含鸟嘌呤的 DNA 序列，位于人类染色体的两端，在保护基因组方面起着至关重要的作用。这些重复的核苷酸序列可以防止基因组被核酸酶降解、不必要的重组和染色体间融合。然而，随着体细胞经历复制周期，它们的端粒会缩短，直到达到一个称为海弗利克极限的临界长度。在这个极限处，细胞衰老，即不可逆的细胞周期停滞，就会被触发。由于上述所有原因，端粒长度是与年龄相关的疾病和癌症的有希望的生物标志物。虽然有许多测量和量化端粒的方法，但由于这些方法并不简单和快速，在临床常规分析中仍然存在挑战。最近，开发了一种新的方法，可以测量单个端粒分子的绝对长度和绝对数量。这种方法，即单端粒绝对长度快速（STAR）测定法，有望快速准确地测量端粒长度，并且预计也具有可扩展性。这篇综述将讨论不同的端粒长度测量方法，包括 STAR 测定法，并强调它们各自的优缺点。最终将确定 STAR 测定法是否有可能成为端粒测量的优越方法。
