Abstract
Telomere length and telomerase activity directly affect the replicative capacity of primary human cells. Some have suggested that telomere length influences organismal lifespan. We compared telomere length distributions in a number of inbred and outbred established mouse strains with those of strains recently derived from wild mice. Telomere length was considerably shorter in wild-derived strains than in the established strains. We found no correlation of telomere length with lifespan, even among closely related inbred mouse strains. Thus, while telomere length plays a role in cellular lifespan in cultured human cells, it is not a major factor in determining organismal lifespan.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 4474-4478 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Nucleic acids research |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 22 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 15 2000 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Genetics