THE BEST BIOMARKER OF OUR AGING
El mejor biomarcador de nuestro envejecimiento
WHAT ARE TELOMERES?
Telomeres are part of DNA and are found at the ends of our chromosomes. Its function is to protect our DNA in each cell division, preventing the chromosome from adhering to another or losing relevant information.
They are made up of repetitions of a pattern of bases (TTAGGG) that do not encode information. The more repetitions, the greater the telomere length.
Over time and with each cell division, our telomeres shorten successively until they reach a point where their length is critical and cells cannot divide anymore, entering apoptosis (programmed cell death). or in senescence (loss of functions) (1).
There are many studies that associate long telomeres and a slower rate of shortening with greater longevity, for example studies carried out in mice with hyper-long telomeres that not only lived 13% longer than those with long telomeres normal, but they accumulated less fat and lived longer (2).
Due to the impact they have at the cellular level, the length of telomeres and their rate of shortening are considered a relevant biomarker of the state of aging of the whole organism.
Due to the impact they have at the cellular level, the length of telomeres and their rate of shortening are considered a relevant biomarker of the state of aging of the whole organism.
Telomeres are part of DNA and are found at the ends of our chromosomes. Its function is to protect our DNA in each cell division, preventing the chromosome from adhering to another or losing relevant information.
They are made up of repetitions of a pattern of bases (TTAGGG) that do not encode information. The more repetitions, the greater the telomere length.
Over time and with each cell division, our telomeres shorten successively until they reach a point where their length is critical and cells cannot divide anymore, entering apoptosis (programmed cell death). or in senescence (loss of functions) (1).
There are many studies that associate long telomeres and a slower rate of shortening with greater longevity, for example studies carried out in mice with hyper-long telomeres that not only lived 13% longer than those with long telomeres normal, but they accumulated less fat and lived longer (2).
Due to the impact they have at the cellular level, the length of telomeres and their rate of shortening are considered a relevant biomarker of the state of aging of the whole organism.
Due to the impact they have at the cellular level, the length of telomeres and their rate of shortening are considered a relevant biomarker of the state of aging of the whole organism.
WHAT FACTORS DOES THE SHORTENING OF TELOMERES DEPEND ON?
The length of the telomeres is highly variable depending on the species we are talking about. Mice, for example, have longer telomeres than humans, yet they have a life expectancy of about 2 years.
This is because their rate of shortening is much faster than ours: while we lose about 70 base pairs in a year, mice lose 7,000 base pairs at their telomeres (3).
But even within the same species there may be variations in the length and rate of shortening that depend directly on factors such as:
Genetics
Environment
Lifestyle
Las distintas elecciones en nuestro estilo de vida y a las situaciones a las que nos vemos expuestos a lo largo del tiempo, hacen que personas con la misma edad cronológica presenten aspectos muy diferentes y puedan tener edades biológicas distintas.
La forma más eficaz de ralentizar este envejecimiento y el acortamiento telomérico es siguiendo un plan de acción hacia unos hábitos de vida saludables.
WHAT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF HAVING SHORT TELOMERES?
Aging is a natural process that many scientists are beginning to classify as a disease in itself.
This causes multiple pathologies to appear that are directly related to old age, such as:
- Cardiovascular diseases.
- Neurodegenerative diseases.
- Different types of cancer: prostate, ovarian, lung…
- Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Infertility.
TE APLICAMOS LA MEDICINA DE 4 FORMAS:
PREDICTIVA
Necesidad real para poder conocer si se va a desarrollar una enfermedad concreta.
PREVENTIVA
La detección temprana de una enfermedad mejora la respuesta a un tratamiento.
PARTICIPATIVA
Por parte de los individuos, de los sistemas de salud de forma proactiva.
PERSONALIZADA
El tratamiento perfecto para cada persona en el momento ideal.
PREDICTIVA
Necesidad real para poder conocer si se va a desarrollar una enfermedad concreta.
PREVENTIVA
La detección temprana de una enfermedad mejora la respuesta a un tratamiento.
PARTICIPATIVA
Por parte de los individuos, de los sistemas de salud de forma proactiva.
PERSONALIZADA
El tratamiento perfecto para cada persona en el momento ideal.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO PRESERVE OUR TELOMERES?
There are currently multiple studies that are aimed at making our telomeres shorten more slowly or trying to lengthen them.
Associated with telomeres there is an enzyme (protein) that has a fundamental role on telomeres, TELOMERASE.
As telomeres shorten with each cell division, telomerase is able to slightly repair the loss in telomere length (4).
Improving our diet, adequate supplementation, treatments such as the hyperbaric chamber (5) and ozone therapy, can reduce the level of oxidative stress in our organism, improve cell repair mechanisms and prevent our telomeres from shortening more quickly.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO PRESERVE OUR TELOMERES?
There are currently multiple studies that are aimed at making our telomeres shorten more slowly or trying to lengthen them.
Asociada a los telómeros existe una enzima (proteina) que tiene un papel fundamental sobre los telómeros, la TELOMERASA
As telomeres shorten with each cell division, telomerase is able to slightly repair the loss in telomere length (4).
Improving our diet, adequate supplementation, treatments such as the hyperbaric chamber (5) and ozone therapy, can reduce the level of oxidative stress in our organism, improve cell repair mechanisms and prevent our telomeres from shortening more quickly.
References
- Blasco M. (2011). María Blasco: Keeping a cap on cancer and aging. Interview by Caitlin Sedwick. The Journal of cell biology, 192(3), 370–371. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.1923pi
- Mice with hyper-long telomeres show less metabolic aging and longer lifespans. Miguel A. Muñoz-Lorente, Alba C. Cano-Martin, Maria A. Blasco (Nature Communications, 2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12664-x
- Telomere shortening rate predicts species lifespan. Kurt Whittemore, Elsa Vera, Eva Martínez-Nevado, Carola Sanpera, Maria A. Blasco (PNAS, 2019). DOI: https://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1902452116
- Blasco, M. Telomerase beyond telomeres. Nat Rev Cancer 2, 627–633 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc862
- Hachmo, Y., Hadanny, A., Abu Hamed, R., Daniel-Kotovsky, M., Catalogna, M., Fishlev, G., Lang, E., Polak, N., Doenyas, K., Friedman, M., Zemel, Y., Bechor, Y., & Efrati, S. (2020). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases telomere length and decreases immunosenescence in isolated blood cells: a prospective trial. Aging, 12(22), 22445–22456. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202188
