Author: BalanceGenics Anti-aging Research Team (How100.com)
Telomeres may not be a term that comes up often in the public eye, but in the field of science, telomeres are well known.
Guardians of genetic information
In 2009, three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "discovering how telomeres and the enzyme telomerase protect chromosomes," which was the first time many in the general public had heard of the term telomere.
Source: npr.org
As we all know, chromosomes carry all our genetic information and control how we live and die. Telomeres, on the other hand, are non-coding repetitive sequences of DNA located at the end of the chromosomes, which protect our genome like a safety helmet.
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Our bodies are constantly undergoing chromosome replication and cell division: every time a cell divides, the chromosomes are replicated, providing each new cell with a new copy.
But the enzymes that carry out the replication function cannot reach the ends of the chromosomes completely, so during each replication a little bit of the end of the chromosome is lost. At this point, telomeres provide a small amount of extra chromosomes as a buffer to protect important genetic information from being lost.
In other words, every time a cell divides, the telomeres lose a little bit of their length. When telomeres can no longer be shortened, the cell will be unable to divide and die. Telomeres have been called the "clock of life" by scientists, and the shortening of telomeres is also considered to be a biological marker of cellular aging.
Source: Cellsignal.com
Telomeres shorten as cells divide. The length of telomeres determines the number of cell divisions and controls the process of cell aging and death, which in turn affects the length of a person's lifespan. Theoretically, if telomeres are long enough, they can protect chromosomes from ever shortening. However, the length of telomeres in normal people is limited. Once the length of telomeres is too short, the chromosomes will lose the protection of telomeres and undergo changes such as fusion or breakage, resulting in DNA damage, thus causing the occurrence of diseases.
Aging alters the mediation of human gene expression
It is common knowledge in the scientific community that there is a link between telomeres and aging, but the causal relationship between the two has never been clear.
In 2020, a special issue of the top scientific journal Science featured a nearly 10-year mega-research program, Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), to further investigate and explain this issue.
Image Science special issue
In this project, scientists used 6,391 tissue samples to comprehensively analyze telomeres in 24 tissues in the human body.
The study found that the relationship between telomere length and aging is far more than just the word cause and effect; telomere length is actually a conductor of aging's ability to alter gene expression in the body. Of the vast number of gene expression changes caused by aging, nearly 1,000 are mediated through telomere length.
Source: Science
These genes affected by telomere length mainly focus on apoptosis and death, which are two key cellular events, but do not directly involve other markers of aging, and telomere shortening can be said to be only a branch in the big net of aging.
Therefore, telomere lengthening cannot be the ultimate solution to the problem of aging.
Indicator of chronic disease risk and cancer risk
While telomere lengthening is not a cure for aging, telomeres are important in helping us avoid a large number of diseases associated with aging.
It has been proven in numerous scientific studies that the length of telomeres is closely related to the level of health of the human body and is crucial to health as it is associated with cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, lung diseases, and many types of cancers.
The results of the study show that of the 24 tissues in the human body, all but the cerebellum and testicular tissue show an inverse correlation with age. The length of telomeres also directly reflects an individual's risk of developing chronic diseases and cancer.
Source: Science
There are three typical aging-related diseases that are significantly associated with short telomeres: type 2 diabetes, interstitial pneumonia, and pulmonary fibrosis.
A scientific team has already started working on treating pulmonary fibrosis by lengthening telomeres, and the experimental results have been quite promising.
The link between type 2 diabetes and telomere length has also attracted more and more attention in recent years, and telomere lengthening may also become a brand-new diabetes treatment idea in the future.
How can we maintain or even extend the length of telomeres?
- Taking telomerase supplements-NMN
The mechanism of NMN to slow down aging is to activate longevity proteins, repair DNA, etc. Gomes's 2013 study enriches the theory of NMN's longevity benefits from the perspective of telomeres. The study found that NMN significantly restored the mitochondrial problems caused by short telomeres. By repairing mitochondrial function, NMN led to a significant reduction in reactive oxygen species, which directly slowed down the rate of telomere shortening in the cells. Additionally, inflammatory factors such as IL-6 and IL-8, as well as aging markers like p16 and p21, were also significantly reduced. This further proves that NMN can successfully halt the aging of cells with short telomeres. The dramatic reduction of senescence markers also confirms once again that NMN can successfully prevent the aging of cells with short telomeres. Pure NMN that contains 250 mg of NMN per capsule, will become your powerful ally to bring about a longer and heathier lifespan.
A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that oral NMN supplementation could remodel the diversity of gut flora and increase telomere length in 16-month-old mice (equivalent to 45-60 years old in humans). Oral NMN supplementation doubled telomere length in healthy men aged 45 to 60 within 90 days. These findings have been published in Frontiers in Nutrition.
Supplementary effect of NMN on the telomere length of the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) *Indicates significant difference at p < 0.05. **Indicates significant difference at p < 0.01.
Source :Frontiers in Nutrition
- Meditate for 12 minutes a day
The study found that trialists who stuck with it for two months invariably saw their telomeres grow longer.
Professor Blackburn and her team of researchers (2015) chose 239 women of nearly similar age and lifestyle habits and arranged for them to travel to Colorado's Shambhala Mountains for a 90-day meditation experiment, where they were asked to meditate for at least 12 minutes a day, with soothing music playing throughout the experiment. At the same time, the participants were prohibited from contacting the outside world for three months to avoid additional mental stress. After 90 days of meditation, about 83 percent of the 239 women experienced an average telomere length extension of more than 30 percent, a significant reduction in free radicals in their bodies, and a more youthful and robust cellular profile, which was equivalent to an overall 20 years younger.
- Often give yourself positive hints
Studies have found that the same is to take care of seriously ill children, those negative mothers, telomeres will be short especially fast; and the positive-minded mother, even though carrying a huge pressure for many years, but her telomeres surprisingly did not change much.
Professor Blackburn's research concluded that the key to telomere length is not the stress itself, but the way you handle it and your mindset. If we don't see stress as a threat but as a challenge, the secreted cortisol will increase adrenaline and elevate the oxygen content of the blood, thus feeling euphoric, and by maintaining such a state of mind, the telomeres will become longer.
- Careful choice of friends and partners around you
Research has found that the people who have long lived in an environment of indifference, cold violence, and discrimination, their telomeres are shorter; and those who have good marriages, friendships, and affection, his telomeres will obviously be longer. So, be sure to decisively stay away from those who consume you. You can only live younger and younger.
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Reference:
Blackburn, E. H., Epel, E. S., & Lin, J. (2015). Human telomere biology: A contributory and interactive factor in aging, disease risks, and protection. Science, 350(6265), 1193-1198. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab3389
Greider, C. W., & Blackburn, E. H. (1985). Identification of a specific telomere terminal transferase activity in Tetrahymena extracts. Cell, 43(2), 405-413. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(85)90170-9
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Zhang, W., Li, J., Suzuki, K., Qu, J., Wang, P., Zhou, J., ... & Belmonte, J. C. I. (2015). A Werner syndrome stem cell model unveils heterochromatin alterations as a driver of human aging. Science, 348(6239), 1160-1163. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1356
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