Telomeres and Cardiovascular Disease Does Size Matter?
Abstract
10 páginas, 2 figuras. ; Telomeres—the specialized DNA-protein structures at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes—are essential for maintaining genome stability and integrity and for extended proliferative life span in both cultured cells and in the whole organism. Telomerase and additional telomere-associated proteins are necessary for preserving telomeric DNA length. Age-dependent telomere shortening in most somatic cells, including vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and cardiomyocytes, is thought to impair cellular function and viability of the aged organism. Telomere dysfunction is emerging as an important factor in the pathogenesis of hypertension, atherosclerosis, and heart failure. In this Review, we discuss present studies on telomeres and telomere-associated proteins in cardiovascular pathobiology and their implications for therapeutics. ; Work in the laboratory of V.A. is supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Spain and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (grants SAF2001-2358 and SAF2002-1443) and from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red de Centros C03/01). A.L.S. is the recipient of a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship from the European Union. ; Peer reviewed
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