Telomeres: a way to stop death
Via lifespan.io
In the oldest written story in humankind, The Epic of Gilgamesh, King Gilgamesh lamented his mortality and sought eternal life. His search concluded with what he deemed a rule that would never be broken: “Humans are born, they live, then they die.” The very first story of all of mankind was a story acknowledging the inevitability of death. But to this day humans have yet to abandon their search to break that rule. Now, the first step to eternal life —delayed aging and cancer proliferation— might come to fruition, thanks to telomeres.
Telomeres, an essential strand of DNA that enables cells to divide, have become a subject of interest as they may hold the key to immortality. As cells divide billions of trillions of times over an organism’s lifespan, telomeres gradually shorten. When they get too short, the cell becomes “senescent” or inactive, and can no longer divide. The shortening of telomeres correlates with aging, cancer, and a higher risk of death. To counteract this, cells employ an enzyme called telomerase, whose primary function is to add DNA into nucleotides to ensure telomeres don’t get too short. Then why can’t we elongate telomeres to prevent aging? It’s more complicated than that, according to Michael Chang at the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing.
“Can longer-than-normal telomeres have detrimental effects as well?” Chang asks in his study on telomeres. He concluded that elongated telomeres can promote cancer and disrupt the cell cycle; however, he made an interesting observation: telomeres can be used to “perhaps [increase] life span.”
A study published by Arizona State University attempts to elaborate on Chang’s observation. Researchers in the study were assured about telomeres’ potential: “[telomeres] hold the promise of reversing […] cellular aging with the potential to extend human lifespan.” But the researchers say that much work is to be done to reach that potential. “Finding a way to properly release the brakes on the telomerase enzyme has the potential to restore the lost telomere length of adult stem cells and to even reverse cellular aging itself,” says Professor Chen, an author of the study.
Susac’s team, composed of researchers at the University of California, is convinced that they have broken ground on finding a way to release the breaks on the telomerase enzyme. “Now we have locations to aim for,” says Susac, an author of the paper, “Each of these interactions could be a point to target, and possibly disrupt or enhance the function of telomerase.”
This has further implications for cancer research as well. Cancer cells proliferate because they have a very active telomerase, essentially making the cells immortal and enabling them to endlessly grow and spread, creating tumors. To reduce telomerase activity, it is useful to know the region and how telomerase interacts with DNA so inhibitors are more effective.
While studies indicate telomeres and telomerase may delay cancer and aging, they all mention the requirement of extreme precision in telomerase control. Otherwise, it might have the inverse effect: promoting cancer and shortening lifespans. The aforementioned Professor Chen cautioned that “augmenting and regulating telomerase function will have to be performed with precision, walking a narrow line between cell rejuvenation and a heightened risk for cancer development.” Researchers at the University of California put it simply: “Precision will be very important; simply hitting telomerase with a hammer won't work.”
We humans must take caution when venturing into such dangerous territory. For example, we must see if this genetic alteration of telomeres is safe to enact, and as the aforementioned scientists warned, can be done with such precision, balancing between the fine line of cancer development and cell rejuvenation. Therefore, as research becomes conclusive, it will become clear if the telomerase method to live longer is a viable option. Even if it is readily available, there is an ethical aspect that must be fixed. What if only the rich can afford telomere treatments? These are the questions that we must answer when the research comes to fruition. Or even if the research is viable with the current technology. However, those questions may not even need to be answered during our life span. However, in the meantime, we should appreciate and fund the research for telomeres as they have the potential to alleviate much suffering and grief and advance society in a way that has never been seen before.