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"Scientists at the Salk Institute have developed a groundbreaking tool called Telo-seq, designed to revolutionize the study of telomeres in aging and disease. Compared to existing methods, which struggle to sequence whole telomeres and can only measure their average length across all chromosomes, the new technique allows researchers to determine the entire sequence and precise length of telomeres on each individual chromosome. ...
Using this technique, the researchers have described numerous features of telomere biology that had not been accessible to scientists before. So far, they’ve observed that within individual human samples, each chromosome arm can have different telomere lengths, and these telomeres can vary significantly in their shortening rates. These dynamics vary in different tissues and cell types within the same person ...
Using this technique, the researchers have described numerous features of telomere biology that had not been accessible to scientists before. So far, they’ve observed that within individual human samples, each chromosome arm can have different telomere lengths, and these telomeres can vary significantly in their shortening rates. These dynamics vary in different tissues and cell types within the same person ...
Telo-seq can also improve our understanding of telomere-driven diseases. Many telomeropathies involve stem cells that run out of telomere length and lose their ability to divide into new, functional cells. This can lead to hair loss, immune disorders, or certain cancers. Telo-seq will allow scientists to investigate whether these diseases are inherited within families or associated with individual chromosomes, in order to develop more targeted interventions.
While telomere shortening can have devastating effects on a cell’s lifespan, the opposite scenario can be equally damaging. When telomere repair mechanisms are overactivated, cells can enter an “immortal” state and divide indefinitely, leading to cancer. ...
"With Telo-seq, we can quickly determine whether a cancer is telomerase-positive or ALT-positive," ... "This is critical because ALT-positive cancers are often more aggressive and require different treatment approaches than telomerase-positive cancers. In this sense, Telo-seq could be used as a quick and reliable diagnostic tool to identify cancer types and guide more personalized treatment plans.” ..."
"... demonstrated that the length of telomeres – the caps at the ends of chromosomes -- are determined at birth and that human health is profoundly affected by it, highlighting the utility of telomere profiling as a potentially powerful area of investigation for preventative health and drug discovery efforts. ..."
From the abstract:
"Telomeres are the protective nucleoprotein structures at the end of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomeres’ repetitive nature and length have traditionally challenged the precise assessment of the composition and length of individual human telomeres. Here, we present Telo-seq to resolve bulk, chromosome arm-specific and allele-specific human telomere lengths using Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ native long-read sequencing. Telo-seq resolves telomere shortening in five population doubling increments and reveals intrasample, chromosome arm-specific, allele-specific telomere length heterogeneity. Telo-seq can reliably discriminate between telomerase- and ALT-positive cancer cell lines. Thus, Telo-seq is a tool to study telomere biology during development, aging, and cancer at unprecedented resolution."
Nanopore sequencing of telomere length unlocks new insights into age-related degeneration, cancer and disease prevention
High resolution long-read telomere sequencing reveals dynamic mechanisms in aging and cancer (open access)
Fig. 2: Telo-seq resolves telomere shortening.
Fig. 4: Telomeres shorten with age.
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