Peripheral lymphocyte telomere dysfunction: a valid surrogate marker for female fertility?

Telomeres are multiple short tandem DNA repeat sequences (5 ′-TTAGGG-3′), that cap the ends of linear chromosomes and bind a specialized telomere protein complex called shelterin to form telomere loops. The telomeres function to protect the genome from degradation, unwanted deletion, or recombination (chromosome end fusions and genomic instability) to ma intain its genetic integrity. Without telomere protection, DNA damage response pathways result in cell cycle arrest, genomic instability, apoptosis, or senescence.

Source: Fertility and Sterility - January 1, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Ramya Sethuram, Ali A. Bazzi, Sana M. Salih, Elizabeth E. Puscheck Tags: Reflections Source Type: research