Telomeres – Everything you need to know about ageing

Telomeres, at a glance, are the ends of chromosomes. In an analogy, telomeres would be the ironwork of cords that prevent them from wearing out and fraying. But their function is actually related to the ageing. The longer the telomeres, the lesser the effect of ageing on the individual.

This structure is made up of repeated regions of nucleotide sequences on both sides of each chromosome. Its main function is that it is responsible for protecting the genome from nucleotide degradation and interchromosomal fusion. So this structure is important for the preservation of our genome information.

Factors that decrease the size of telomeres

Telomeres become progressively shorter during the course of life. During each cell divisionThe length at which a cell divides is estimated to be is shortening by between 24.8-27.7 base pairs per year.. But there are several factors that influence the rate at which telomeres shorten.

Obesity

It has a negative impact on telomeres and accelerates the ageing process, as obesity is associated with oxidative stress causing damage to the telomeres. DNA. This acceleration in the rate of telomere shortening can be the equivalent of the loss of almost 9 years of life.

Tobacco and smoking

This also causes oxidative stress. Studies analysed the telomere of leukocytes in women smokers and found that on average they lost about 5 base pairs more per year; translated into years lost, this translates into an additional 5 base pairs per year. 7 years less life; in a person who has smoked 1 pack a day for 40 years of his or her life.

Stress

Stress-related hormones are able to reduce antioxidant levels and thus also cause an increase in oxidative DNA damage; thus also causing telomere shortening. In another study of women who had been exposed to stress in their daily lives, they showed evidence of an increase in oxidative stress and a decrease in the activity of telomerase with respect to a control group. Translated into time reduction we are talking about up to 10 years of loss of life.

Telomerase

Despite the fact that after each replication and bad habit the telomere degrades, there is an enzyme called telomerase whose function is to regenerate it and thus maintain the replicative capacity of cells. Thanks to this enzyme, several studies suggest that the activation of telomerase leads to a lengthening of telomeres and thus slows down the ageing process. In addition, the antioxidant intakesubstances that are capable of buffer oxidative damageThey are also able to maintain telomere integrity.

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Also find out how blue people can exist due to a mutation genetics here.