Questioning causal involvement of telomeres in aging
Open accessAbstract
Multiple studies have demonstrated that telomere length predicts mortality and that telomeres shorten with age. Although rarely acknowledged these associations do not dictate causality. I review telomerase knockout and overexpression studies and find little support that telomeres cause aging. In addition, the causality hypothesis assumes that there is a critical telomere length at which senescence is induced. This generates the prediction that variance in telomere length decreases with age. In contrast, using meta-analysis of human data, I find no such decline. Inferring the causal involvement of telomeres in aging from current knowledge is therefore speculative and could hinder scientific progress.
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Reactive oxygen generated by UV radiation induces telomere mutation, cell death, or senescence.
“The reactive oxygen generated by UV radiation induces telomere mutation, cell death, or senescence.”
From Diet and Skin Aging—From the Perspective of Food Nutrition (2020) · cites this paper as [42]
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References 58 · Cited by 108
- Authors
- Simons, M. J. P.
- Affiliations
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Simons, Mirre J.P.
- ORCID
- Simons, Mirre J.P.
- Venue
- Ageing Research Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-11
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- Pt B
- Pages
- 191-196
- ISSN
- 1568-1637 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1940386026
- Cited by
- 108
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 1.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Ageing Research Reviews (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Environment Research Council (J024597/1, NE/M005951/1)
- a Sir Henry Wellcome Fellowship
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Keywords
- telomeres, aging, telomere length, telomerase, cellular senescence, causality, mortality
- MeSH terms
- Aging, Humans, Causality, Epidemiologic Measurements, Telomere Homeostasis, Telomere Shortening
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