Environmental Stresses Disrupt Telomere Length Homeostasis
نویسندگان
چکیده
Telomeres protect the chromosome ends from degradation and play crucial roles in cellular aging and disease. Recent studies have additionally found a correlation between psychological stress, telomere length, and health outcome in humans. However, studies have not yet explored the causal relationship between stress and telomere length, or the molecular mechanisms underlying that relationship. Using yeast as a model organism, we show that stresses may have very different outcomes: alcohol and acetic acid elongate telomeres, whereas caffeine and high temperatures shorten telomeres. Additional treatments, such as oxidative stress, show no effect. By combining genome-wide expression measurements with a systematic genetic screen, we identify the Rap1/Rif1 pathway as the central mediator of the telomeric response to environmental signals. These results demonstrate that telomere length can be manipulated, and that a carefully regulated homeostasis may become markedly deregulated in opposing directions in response to different environmental cues.
منابع مشابه
Telomere length in relation to incident chronic stress in the Bangladeshi-American: the experience from the Massachusetts United States of America
Telomere is a region of repetitive DNA located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, which protect genetic material from degradation during cellular replication. Telomere length in individuals is highly variable, and studies have shown that shortened telomeres are associated with poor prognoses in many diseases, including cancers and other diseases that disproportionately affect BangladeshiAme...
متن کاملShared environmental factors associated with telomere length maintenance in elderly male twins.
During aging, chromosome ends, or telomeres, gradually erode or shorten with each somatic cell division. Loss of telomere length homeostasis has been linked to age-related disease. Remarkably, specific environmental assaults, both physical and psychological, have been shown to correlate with shortened telomeres. However, the extent that genetic and/or environmental factors may influence telomer...
متن کاملThe reanalysis of three large datasets uncovers progressive telomere erosion between healthy human generations and supports an 11-year-old model of telomere-driven macroevolution
Upon re-examination of large telomere datasets from healthy human populations, a downward secular trend in telomere length at birth was found. The authors theorized that relatively recent environmental stresses to female germ cells could have driven the observed intergenerational telomere erosion; otherwise, these trends would have pushed populations into pathological telomere length ranges wit...
متن کاملIs Leukocyte Telomere Length Related with Lung Cancer Risk?: A Meta-Analysis
Background: Epidemiological studies have probed the correlation between telomere length and the risk of lung cancer, but their findings are inconsistent in this regard. The present meta-analysis study has been carried out to demonstrate the association between relative telomere length in peripheral blood leukocytes and the risk of lung cancer using an established Q-PCR technique. Methods:...
متن کاملDo tumor-suppressive mechanisms contribute to organism aging by inducing stem cell senescence?
Stem/progenitor cells ensure tissue and organism homeostasis and might represent a frequent target of transformation. Although these cells are potentially immortal, their life span is restrained by signaling pathways (p19-p53; p16-Rb) that are activated by DNA damage (telomere dysfunction, environmental stresses) and lead to senescence or apoptosis. Execution of these checkpoint programs might ...
متن کامل