Rapid telomere shortening in children.
Telomere shortening may reflect the total number of divisions experienced by a somatic cell and is associated with replicative senescence. We found that the average rate of telomere shortening in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained longitudinally from nine different infants during the first 3 years of life (270 bp per year) is more than fourfold higher than in adults and does not correlate with telomerase activity. These results show that the rate of telomere loss changes during ontogeny, suggesting the existence of periods of accelerated cell division. Because human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) preferentially infects actively dividing cells, our observation suggesting accelerated cell division in children may provide an explanation for some of the distinctive pathogenic features of the HIV disease in infants, including higher viral loads and more rapid progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Telomere
- Telomerase
- Risk Factors
- Regression Analysis
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
- Pregnancy
- Longitudinal Studies
- Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
- Infant, Newborn
- Immunology
Citation
Published In
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Telomere
- Telomerase
- Risk Factors
- Regression Analysis
- Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
- Pregnancy
- Longitudinal Studies
- Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
- Infant, Newborn
- Immunology