hTERT - Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase

Welcome to hTERT.com

On this site you will find information about hTERT, Telomerase, Cell Health, Telomere Lengthening and more. Also learn about Anti-Aging therapies such as Resveratrol, TA-65, and Astragaloside IV supplements. You can check out the latest news, read through our blog discussion, or use our resources to learn more. We welcome information sharing. Please leave comments, useful links, and questions where ever applicable.

What is hTERT?

hTERT, or "human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase," is a ribonucleoprotein that maintains telomere ends by addittion of the telomere repeat sequence TTAGGG. Without Telomerase and TERT in humans DNA is unable to replicate ultimately causing cellular senescence, otherwise known as cell death. This is the basis for the aging process in humans. As cells die that means they are no longer able to replicate newer, fresher cells, hence causing our bodies to age. (Click here for a more detailed description of hTERT)

Need a little help with the terminology?

Check out the "Cellular Biology Glossary of Terms"

Your Cells Tell Your Age With Young and Long DNA

By Jason Witt

When you receive the Seal you will begin to take better care of your health, especially as you start to age. One of the benefits associated with staying fit in a recent study is a younger body at a cellular level.

There are strands of of DNA on the ends of all the cells in your body. As you age those strands start to become shorter. It has been found that people who stay fit have longer strands so their bodies are younger. The ends of these strands are telomeres. They stop the DNA in your cells' chromosomes from unraveling. Older people have shorter ends on the strands than younger people have.

Those telomeres become shorter each time your cells divide. Eventually when you are old enough those strands become so short that the cells start cutting into the chromosomes where the genes are needed to define the characteristics of the body.

The body ends up "shutting down" those cells so they do not grow into malignant tumors. But that means as you grow old your body starts shutting down a lot of cells whose strands have grown too short.

And this varies among people. Some people have longer telomeres to begin with and those telomeres shorten at different speeds in different people. Some people have stronger telomeres that resist unraveling for longer. But researchers are not ready yet to prescribe exercise to everyone to keep their bodies young. This study shows active people have younger cells with longer telomeres. But just how that is related to exercise is not known.

Reverse Aging - Turn Back Your Biological Clock By Up to 15 years

Author: Johan Gateway

Aging is not plainly about old age. It is a lifelong process by which we define the biological, mental, and social stages in our lives. For centuries, human have sought magical formulas and modern science to delay much more escape from this appalling human condition. There are million sites in the Internet that pertain to aging and more than five hundred thousand searches on the term "reversing the aging process".

The modern era of aging research actually began in 1960 when cell biologist Leonard Hayflick made a significant discovery. But it is only recently that modern biotechnology has begun to work on restoring youth, establishing life longevity, and ultimately reversing the aging process.

The Quest of Immortality

Armed with a growing knowledge of Biology, a new breed of longevity specialists is finding out answers to staying young and living longer. In 1995, Director John C. Guerin headed a study that documented animals which lived 200 years or longer without showing signs of aging. At Geron Corporation, a biopharmaceutical firm, biologist Calvin Harley is working to find the genes that direct telomerase production, believing he might be able to manipulate them so that the regulator for the enzyme can be turned on and off at will. "With a pill or with cell therapy, I think we may be able to treat aging in very specific areas," Harley says.

Other genes implicated in aging have already been flushed out of hiding. Siegfried Hekimi of McGill University in Montreal created his little superworms by breeding long-lived individuals, extending the life-spans of the next generation. He then searched the specimen's chromosomes until he found the mutated gene responsible, a gene he dubbed Clock-1. When Hekimi went looking for similar clock genes in people, he found one so similar, he says, "that it's possible that the whole clock system works the same way. If we find all of the human clock genes, we can perhaps slow them down just a little, so we can extend life expectancy just a little."

Telomere Length Shown To Remain Longer in Jewish Ashkenazi Centenarians

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Nov 13. [Epub ahead of print]

Genetic variation in human telomerase is associated with telomere length in Ashkenazi centenarians.

Atzmon G, Cho M, Cawthon RM, Budagov T, Katz M, Yang X, Siegel G, Bergman A, Huffman DM, Schechter CB, Wright WE, Shay JW, Barzilai N, Govindaraju DR, Suh Y.

Departments of Medicine and Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 Institute for Aging Research, Diabetes Research and Training Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 Department of Family and Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390 Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118.

Telomere length in humans is emerging as a biomarker of aging because its shortening is associated with aging-related diseases and early mortality. However, genetic mechanisms responsible for these associations are not known. Here, in a cohort of Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians, their offspring, and offspring-matched controls, we studied the inheritance and maintenance of telomere length and variations in two major genes associated with telomerase enzyme activity, hTERT and hTERC. We demonstrated that centenarians and their offspring maintain longer telomeres compared with controls with advancing age and that longer telomeres are associated with protection from age-related diseases, better cognitive function, and lipid profiles of healthy aging. Sequence analysis of hTERT and hTERC showed overrepresentation of synonymous and intronic mutations among centenarians relative to controls. Moreover, we identified a common hTERT haplotype that is associated with both exceptional longevity and longer telomere length. Thus, variations in human telomerase gene that are associated with better maintenance of telomere length may confer healthy aging and exceptional longevity in humans.

PMID: 19915151 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19915151?dopt=Abstract

Telomere Replication & Telomerase, an Explanation!

The video below explains how DNA replication occurs and the importance of telomere lengthening.  As our telomeres shorten our cells will only replicate a certain number of times.  Once they become to short our cells are no longer able to replicate, thus causing celluar senescence, or cell death.  Telomerase acts as a bridge in the lengthening of telomeres that have already replicated.

You will see a very straightforward explanation in the video. The diagrams help those of us without the cellular biology background understand the process of Telomere Replication.

Leukocyte Telomere Length & HDL Cholesterol Linked

In a recently published study Atherosclerosis Journal, "Leukocyte telomere length is associated with HDL cholesterol levels: The Bogalusa heart study," researchers believe LTL (Leukocyte Telomere Length) is correlated to HDL cholesterol levels.  A decline in HDL-C can increase the rate at which LTL shortens.

The study provides us potential insight into risk factors and the higher probabilities of those with lower HDL-C levels to be at an increased risk of Heart Disease or Atherosclerosis.

First let's define some of the terminology used in the study:

What is LTL, or Leukocyte Telomere Length?

A leukocyte is a type of immune cell. Most leukocytes are made in the bone marrow and are found in the blood and lymph tissue. Leukocytes help the body fight infections and other diseases. Granulocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes are leukocytes. Also called WBC and white blood cell. (Source: cancer.gov)

Thus, the LTL is the length of the telomeres associated with Leukocyte cells.

What is HDL-C, or High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol?

HDL, also known as "good cholesterol" is a lipoprotein that is being studied as aiding in the removal of cholesterol from arteries and transporting it to the liver for excretion.  It is said to have cardioprotective properties and a level of 50 mg/dL or above is ideal. (Source: wikipedia)

What is Atherosclerosis?

Atherosclerosis (ath-er-o-skler-O-sis) is a disease in which plaque (plak) builds up on the insides of your arteries.  Arteries are blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart and other parts of your body.

Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood.  Over time, plaque hardens and narrows your arteries.  The flow of oxygen-rich blood to your organs and other parts of your body is reduced.  This can lead to serious problems, including heart attack, stroke, or even death. (Source: nhlbi.gov)

Now that we have cleared up some terminology challenges let's look at the study:

"Leukocyte telomere length is associated with HDL cholesterol levels: The Bogalusa heart study"

(Click link to open in new window)

The results showed a higher HDL-C level had a positive effect on LTL in childhood and adulthood in both subject groups.  In my opinion further confirming the benefits of higher HDL levels.

hTert.com, an Introduction!

Welcome to the hTERT.com blog community.  Here we will share information on all aspects of cellular health focusing on Anti-Aging, hTERT, Telemorase, Telomere Lengthening, & More.

You can check out the latest cellular research news, read our cellular biology glossary, learn more about telomere lengthening supplemets and treatments, or find out the best ways to test your telomere length.

Most important we ask you to participate in our blog discussions.  Have information to add?  Want to ask a question?  Or if you just want to state your opinion, we encourage you to do so by posting comments below any post.

If you enjoy an article or discussion please remember to Digg It, Stumble It, Save it to Delicious, or link to it.  It's a great way to get the word out about cellular health!

Have any suggestions for the site?  You can email me by clicking this link.

I look forward to working with you to develop an online resource focusing on Cell Health.

You can get started exploring the site by going to the, "What is hTERT?" explanation page.

Live Longer,

Markus
hTERT.com