Simons, M.J.P. (2015) Questioning causal involvement of telomeres in ageing. Ageing Research Reviews. ISSN 1568-1637
Abstract
Multiple studies have demonstrated that telomere length predicts mortality and that telomeres shorten with age. Although rarely acknowledged these associations do not dictate causality. I review telomerase knockout and overexpression studies and find little support that telomeres cause aging. In addition, the causality hypothesis assumes that there is a critical telomere length at which senescence is induced. This generates the prediction that variance in telomere length decreases with age. In contrast, using meta-analysis of human data, I find no such decline. Inferring the causal involvement of telomeres in aging from current knowledge is therefore speculative and could hinder scientific progress.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 Z. Published by Elsevier B.V. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
Keywords: | Telomere length; Mortality; Epidemiology; Meta-analysis; Human; Senescence |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 27 Oct 2015 14:43 |
Last Modified: | 27 Oct 2015 14:43 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2015.08.002 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.arr.2015.08.002 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:89896 |