Heard some increased talk of telomeres? Wondering what they are and how they are related to the aging process?
Telomeres act as a sort of hourglass. When the sand runs out, so does the ability for a cell to reproduce, which can lead to signs of aging.
Yes. We are born with telomeres attached to the end of our chromosomes.
Telomeres are a form of DNA comprised of the sequence 5’-TTAGGG-3. Some may recall that the T, A, and G, stand for thymine, adenine, and guanine. This type of DNA is known as ‘non-coding,’ and exists to defend the cell, including from instances of DNA loss, and from errors occurring as a result of the genetic recombination process.
Each time a cell performs a division, the telomere may become shorter.
However, the effect cell division has on a telomere may directly relate to the type of cell in question. For example, according to one study titled “Telomeres, lifestyle, cancer, and aging,” the article states the following:
“Telomerase activity, the ability to extend telomeres, is present in germline and certain hematopoietic cells, whereas somatic cells have low or undetectable levels of this activity and their telomeres undergo a progressive shortening with replications.”
The discovery that telomeres act to protect cells, particularly chromosomes and DNA, was made by Hermann Muller in the 1930s. While Muller found the telomeres remained separate from one another, and seemed to protect the chromosome, it is said he did not know exactly how this was accomplished.
Then, in 2009, Jack Szostak and Elizabeth Blackburn were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their contribution in the area of exactly how telomeres and the enzyme telomerase help to protect chromosomes.
The shorter our telomers become, the more likely we are to show signs of aging. It is said that shorter telomers are often present in older individuals. Also, when a telomere becomes too short, it will stop the cell from replicating. What this can do is cause a more and more tissue within the body to become damaged and collect, which can surface in the forms of wrinkles, disease, etc.
When a telomere reaches its shortest length and the cell is no longer able to replicate, it experiences what is known as apoptosis or cell death.
Telomere length can be influenced by our environment, genetic predisposition, and behavioral factors, such as smoking.
You may be familiar with the phrase, “biological age.” A telomere is a good indication of someone’s biological age, as compared to actual age in years or numbers.
When it comes to smoking, according to research: “Shorter telomeres among ever smokers compared to those who never smoke imply mechanisms linking tobacco smoke exposure to aging-related disease.”
According to sources, within recent years, new findings indicate it may be possible to lengthen telomeres.
“Now we have found a way to lengthen human telomeres by as much as 1,000 nucleotides, turning back the internal clock in these cells by the equivalent of many years of human life,” says Medical News Today.
According to sources, HBOT has been evaluated for its effectiveness in improving telomere length.
Here is what one such study states: “Telomeres length of T helper, T cytotoxic, natural killer and B cells increased significantly by over 20% following HBOT. The most significant change was noticed in B cells which increased at the 30th session, 60th session and post HBOT by 25.68%±40.42 (p=0.007), 29.39%±23.39 (p=0.0001) and 37.63%±52.73 (p=0.007), respectively.”
While factors such as a person’s genetics and environment play a large role in how they age, a healthy lifestyle can help improve our ‘biological age,’ which ultimately reflects signs of aging in individuals, or not.
Other alternatives, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, have been shown in studies to have positive results, as well.