Telomere dynamics in human health and disease

Baird, Duncan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8408-5467 2025. Telomere dynamics in human health and disease. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology 17 (8) , a041701. 10.1101/cshperspect.a041701

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Abstract

Telomere function is critical for genomic stability; in the context of a functional TP53 response, telomere erosion leads to a G1/S cell-cycle arrest and the induction of replicative senescence, a process that is considered to underpin the ageing process in long-lived species. Abrogation of the TP53 pathway allows for continued cell division, telomere erosion, and the complete loss of telomere function; the ensuing genomic instability facilitates clonal evolution and malignant progression. Telomeres display extensive length heterogeneity in the population that is established at birth, and this affects the individual risk of a broad range of diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. In this perspective, I discuss telomere length heterogeneity at the levels of the population, individual, and cell, and consider how the dynamics of these essential chromosomal structures contribute to human disease.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Medicine
Publisher:	Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
ISSN:	1943-0264
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 October 2024
Date of Acceptance:	16 October 2024
Last Modified:	14 Aug 2025 14:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/173240

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