3 ms·
Telomeres are just repeats at the end of chromosomes to allow for replication. They aren't directly involved in replication fidelity beyond allowing for replica
by dillydogg 3y ago
Telomeres are just repeats at the end of chromosomes to allow for replication. They aren't directly involved in replication fidelity beyond allowing for replication to proceed. I guess protecting genes near chromosome termini but that's different than the mutations you would expect in cancer.
- herval 3y agomy understanding is cancer gets more prevalent when the telomeres get old (short?), since it leads to more mutations/botched replication?
- dillydogg 3y agoI'm sorry for the delay, but this actually isn't quite right. Short telomere syndromes are not associated with cancer. In fact, it is long telomeres that have a strong association with cancer (largely because aberrantly activating telomerase can drive cancer development.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22965356/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22965356/ for more on short telomere syndromes.