Telomeres and immune competency
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Telomeres are essential for the integrity of chromosomes and for cellular replication. Attrition of telomeres occurs during DNA replication owing to the inability of conventional DNA polymerase to replicate chromosomal termini and the insufficient compensation for telomere loss by telomerase, an enzyme that synthesizes telomeric DNA. A number of genetic defects have been described in humans and in animal models that cause accelerated telomere attrition, in turn leading to severe phenotypes of hematopoietic and other proliferating cells. Telomere length, most frequently measured as an average value in heterogeneous peripheral blood leukocyte populations in humans, has been associated with a wide range of health conditions and diseases of immune and non-immune cells. Here, I review recent studies of telomere length dynamics with particular relevance to immune function.
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Immune responses may be negatively affected in cases of telomere attrition.
“However, it is also well established that immune responses may be negatively affected in cases of telomere attrition [27,28].”
From Current and Future Trends of Colorectal Cancer Treatment: Exploring Advances in Immunotherapy (2024) · cites this paper as [28]
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Additional file 1 of Association between leukocyte telomere length and COVID-19 severity
Mahmoodpoor, A., Sanaie, S., Eskandari, M., Behrouzi, N., Taghizadeh, M., Roudbari, F., Emamalizadeh, B., Sohrabifar, N., & Kazeminasab, S. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26592563
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Rodriguez-Vidal, J. F., Alcaraz‐Pérez, F., Bernal-Bermúdez, B., García‐Moreno, D., Ayala, A. G., Cabas, I., Mulero, V., & Cayuela, M. L. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-11107439/v1
- Authors
- Weng, N.-P.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Corresponding author
- Weng, Nan-ping
- ORCID
- Weng, Nan-ping
- Venue
- Current Opinion in Immunology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-08
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 470-475
- ISSN
- 0952-7915 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3423542
- OpenAlex
- W2004151029
- Cited by
- 87
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Current Opinion in Immunology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Intramural Research Programs of the National Institute on Aging
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Keywords
- telomeres, telomere length, telomerase, immune function, hematopoietic cells, leukocytes, telomere shortening, DNA replication, immune-related diseases
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Humans, Immune System, Telomere, Telomere Homeostasis
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