In vivo loss of telomeric repeats with age in humans.
Telomeric DNA in the skin cells of 21 human subjects aged between 0 and 92 years was quantified by determining the length of the telomeric smear and the relative amount of TTAGGG repeat sequences. Both telomere length and quantity of telomeric repeat sequences were found to decrease significantly with age. Telomere loss has previously been postulated to be a caused of cell senescence.
Lindsey
J
J
MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, U.K.
McGill
N I
NI
Lindsey
L A
LA
Green
D K
DK
Cooke
H J
HJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000502:physiology; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid / Q000235:genetics*; D016615:Telomere / Q000502:physiology*