Biography
Biography: Joshua Dunsky
Abstract
Shortening of the telomere at the chromosome ends is recognized to inhibit the lifespan of human cells and provoke a signal for the ignition of cellular senescence. To continually proliferate with proper DNA replication and to minimize cellular disturbance, cells must rebuild and sustain telomere length. Telomerase can achieve this due to it’s reverse transcriptase activity. Eventhough all somatic cells have the telomerase gene, the activity itself is surpressed at the regulatory element at birth. The telomerase enzyme is suggested to be an essential factor in cell immortalization. In this review, we discuss the structure and function of telomere and telomerase and their roles in cell immortalization and aging, simultaneously the experimental studies of telomerase assays and disease. Finally, we discuss the potential use of inhibitors of telomerase in humans and the role it plays in “youthful aging”.