The length of the ‘caps’ of DNA that protect the tips of chromosomes may predict cancer risk and be a potential target for future therapeutics. Longer-than-expected telomeres — which are composed of repeated sequences of DNA and are shortened every time a cell divides — are associated with an increased cancer risk.

Cancer cells often avoid senescence or cell death by maintaining their telomeres despite repeated cell divisions. This is possible because the cancer cells activate an enzyme called telomerase, which adds genetic units onto the telomeres to prevent them from shortening to the point of causing senescence or cell death.

In cancer cells, the degradation of telomerase by proteasomes results in the formation of protein fragments or peptides of telomerase that are expressed on the tumor cell surface as antigens by the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I pathway [68, 69], and these telomerase antigenic epitopes can be targeted by …

Telomeres affect how our cells age. Once they lose a certain number of bases and become too short, the cell can no longer divide and be replicated. This inactivity or senescence leads to cell death (apoptosis) and the shortening of telomeres is associated with aging, cancer and an increased likelihood of death.

Counteracting the telomere shrinking process is the enzyme, telomerase, that uniquely holds the key to delaying or even reversing the cellular aging process. The activity of telomerase in adult stem cells merely slows down the countdown of the molecular clock and does not completely immortalize these cells.

5 ways to encourage telomere lengthening and delay shortening

1. Maintain a healthy weight. Research has found obesity as an indicator of shorter telomeres.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Manage chronic stress.
4. Eat a telomere-protective diet.
5. Incorporate supplements.

The “flow-FISH” test, which stands for flow cytometry and fluorescence in situ hybridization, specifically measures the telomere length in each cell within a patient’s blood sample.

We also find that fasting not only increases the percentage of stem cells with long telomeres but also increases the maximum telomere length in planarian stem cells [4].

Commercial tests typically measure telomere lengths or amounts of telomeric DNA in a blood sample. Companies compare your telomeres to telomeres from people of similar age to try to determine the biological age of your blood cells.

A small pilot study shows for the first time that changes in diet, exercise, stress management and social support may result in longer telomeres, the parts of chromosomes that affect aging. It is the first controlled trial to show that any intervention might lengthen telomeres over time.

It’s great because you’re not just measuring a signal, you’re actually seeing the telomere length distributions. When you take two different cells that are from different ages, you can actually see clearly that one has a longer distribution of telomeres than the other.

Vitamin D3 has been shown to increase telomerase activity in overweight Americans. In this 2012 study, vitamin D3 was shown to improve telomere maintenance and prevent cell death and counteract obesity-induced acceleration cellular aging. Astragalus has been found to stimulate telomerase activity.

Short telomere syndromes (STSs) are accelerated aging syndromes often caused by inheritable gene mutations resulting in decreased telomere lengths. Consequently, organ systems with increased cell turnover, such as the skin, bone marrow, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract, are commonly affected.

DNA can be damaged via environmental factors as well. Environmental agents such as UV light, ionizing radiation, and genotoxic chemicals. Replication forks can be stalled due to damaged DNA and double strand breaks are also a form of DNA damage.

DNA damage occurs continuously as a result of various factors—intracellular metabolism, replication, and exposure to genotoxic agents, such as ionizing radiation and chemotherapy. If left unrepaired, this damage could result in changes or mutations within the cell genomic material.