Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Wolf, Sarah E.
• Shalev, Idan

Titel

The shelterin protein expansion of telomere dynamics: Linking early life adversity, life history, and the hallmarks of aging

Ist Teil von

• Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2023-09, Vol.152, p.105261-105261, Article 105261

Ort / Verlag

United States: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Quelle

Access via ScienceDirect (Elsevier)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Aging is characterized by functional decline occurring alongside changes to several hallmarks of aging. One of the hallmarks includes attrition of repeated DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes called telomeres. While telomere attrition is linked to morbidity and mortality, whether and how it causally contributes to lifelong rates of functional decline is unclear. In this review, we propose the shelterin-telomere hypothesis of life history, in which telomere-binding shelterin proteins translate telomere attrition into a range of physiological outcomes, the extent of which may be modulated by currently understudied variation in shelterin protein levels. Shelterin proteins may expand the breadth and timing of consequences of telomere attrition, e.g., by translating early life adversity into acceleration of the aging process. We consider how the pleiotropic roles of shelterin proteins provide novel insights into natural variation in physiology, life history, and lifespan. We highlight key open questions that encourage the integrative, organismal study of shelterin proteins that enhances our understanding of the contribution of the telomere system to aging. •Telomere attrition is a hallmark of aging linked to cellular senescence.•Regulatory shelterin proteins may translate telomere loss into shifts in physiology.•Shelterin proteins alter gene expression related to life history traits and aging.•Early adversity may alter lifetime aging via telomere loss and shelterin proteins.•We encourage several lines of integrative research on shelterin protein abundance.