Download pdf
Telomere Dynamics in Aging and Cancer: Mechanisms, Clinical Implications, and Therapeutic Potential
- 1 Institute of Jixi First School, Heilongjiang, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Telomeres, specialized DNA-protein structures located at the ends of chromosomes, play critical roles in maintaining genomic stability and regulating cellular lifespan. With each cellular division, telomeres gradually shorten, eventually triggering cellular senescence or apoptosis. However, cancer cells often bypass this replicative limit through telomerase activation or alternative lengthening mechanisms, enabling indefinite proliferation and tumor progression. This review systematically discusses the complex relationships between telomeres, cellular aging, and cancer, emphasizing telomere length dynamics, regulatory enzymes such as telomerase, and influencing factors including genetic predispositions, lifestyle, and environmental stressors. It also highlights innovative technological advancements in telomere analysis and potential clinical applications in anti-aging therapies, cancer treatments, and regenerative medicine. Despite promising advances, significant challenges remain, such as ethical considerations and balancing therapeutic telomere extension against cancer risks. Future interdisciplinary research integrating molecular biology, genetics, advanced imaging, and bioinformatics is crucial for translating telomere biology into effective clinical strategies aimed at extending healthy human lifespan and combating age-related diseases.
Keywords
Telomeres, Cellular Senescence, Cancer, Aging, Genome Stability
[1]. Libertini G, Shubernetskaya O, Corbi G, et al. Is evidence supporting the subtelomere–telomere theory of aging? [J]. Biochemistry (Moscow), 2021, 86: 1526-1539.
[2]. Tengxin Cao et al. Green light suppresses cell growth but enhances photosynthetic rate and MIB biosynthesis in PE-containing Pseudanabaena [J]. Water Research, 2025, 277: 123336-123336.
[3]. Mauricio Vergara Castro et al. Chemical and biological antioxidant activity evaluation of extracts from berries pomaces[J]. Applied Food Research, 2025, 5(1): 100781-100781.
[4]. Nanase I, Kenichi M, Mun T L, et al. Hepatocyte growth factor derived from senescent cells attenuates cell competition-induced apical elimination of oncogenic cells[J]. Nature Communications,2022,13(1):4157-4157.
[5]. A D D, Ronit K, Stephen K, et al.Fibroblast growth factor 23 and cognitive impairment: The health, aging, and body composition study.[J].PloS one,2020,15(12):e0243872-e0243872.
[6]. Patricia L Abreu et al. Telomeric Repeat-Containing RNA: Biogenesis, Regulation, and Functions. [J]. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 2025.
[7]. Haitao Chen et al. Orientin alleviates chondrocyte senescence and osteoarthritis by inhibiting PI3K/AKT pathway.[J]. Bone & joint research, 2025, 14(3): 245-258.
[8]. Yiran Zang et al. Programmed cell senescence is required for sensory organ development in Drosophila[J]. iScience, 2025, 28(3) : 112048-112048.
[9]. Tala Solh et al. The relationship between neuropsychiatric disorders and aging: A review on telomere length, oxidative stress, and inflammation. [J]. Behavioural brain research, 2025, 485: 115528.
[10]. Kevin C Wang et al. The Influence of Age on Cellular Senescence in Injured versus Healthy Muscle and Its Implications on Rotator Cuff Injuries. [J]. Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery, 2025.
[11]. Nicole Bettin et al. Epigenetics of Human Telomeres. [J]. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 2025.
[12]. Guanjing Hu et al. A telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of cotton provides insights into centromere evolution and short-season adaptation. [J]. Nature Genetics, 2025, (prepublish): 1-13.
[13]. Correction for Qian et al., Chemoptogenetic damage to mitochondria causes rapid telomere dysfunction. [J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025, 122(10): e2501913122.
[14]. Adina Asara Baniahmad et al. The bioactivity of atraric acid as an inducer of cellular senescence in prostate cancer cells is retained by lipophilic derivatives[J]. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology, 2025, (prepublish): 1-17.
[15]. Jiahong Yi et al. Mediated roles of oxidative stress and kidney function to leukocyte telomere length and prognosis in chronic kidney disease. [J]. Renal failure, 2025, 47(1): 2464828.
[16]. Giada De Benedittis et al. Alteration of telomere length and mtDNA copy number in interstitial lung disease associated with rheumatoid arthritis. [J]. Autoimmunity, 2025, 58(1): 2473741.
[17]. Indra Heckenbach et al. Cellular senescence predicts breast cancer risk from benign breast disease biopsy images[J]. Breast Cancer Research, 2025, 27(1): 37-37.
[18]. Yasmyn E. Winstanley et al. Telomere length in offspring is determined by mitochondrial-nuclear communication at fertilization[J]. Nature Communications, 2025, 16(1) : 2527-2527.
[19]. Sharon A Savage. Telomeres and Human Disease. [J]. Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology, 2025.
[20]. Raphaël Chevalier et al. Telomere Position Effect-Over Long Distances Acts as a Genome-Wide Epigenetic Regulator Through a Common Alu Element. [J]. Aging cell, 2025,: e70027.
[21]. Li Yunji, Xiong Luojie, Tian Yuefeng, Zhai Chuntao, Li Wei. Analysis of the Relationship Between Telomere and Mitochondrial Autophagy and Cell Aging[J]. Innovations in Chinese Medicine, 2023, 20(14): 164-169.
Cite this article
Song,Y. (2025). Telomere Dynamics in Aging and Cancer: Mechanisms, Clinical Implications, and Therapeutic Potential. Applied and Computational Engineering,151,34-40.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Software Engineering and Machine Learning
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).