Telomere length and telomerase activity during oocyte maturation and early embryo development in mammalian species

Telomeres are located at the ends of all eukaryotic chromosomes and protect them from deleterious events such as inappropriate DNA repair, illegitimate recombination or improper segregation of the chromosomes during mitotic or meiotic divisions. However, telomeres gradually shorten primarily due to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular human reproduction 2014-01, Vol.20 (1), p.15-30
Main Authors: Ozturk, Saffet, Sozen, Berna, Demir, Necdet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Animals
Cattle
Embryonic Development
Female
Granulosa Cells - cytology
Humans
Mice
Oocytes - cytology
Oocytes - growth & development
Oxidative Stress
Telomerase - metabolism
Telomere - genetics
Telomere - metabolism
Telomere Homeostasis - genetics
Telomere Shortening - genetics
Telomere-Binding Proteins
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Summary:Telomeres are located at the ends of all eukaryotic chromosomes and protect them from deleterious events such as inappropriate DNA repair, illegitimate recombination or improper segregation of the chromosomes during mitotic or meiotic divisions. However, telomeres gradually shorten primarily due to successive rounds of genomic DNA replication and also as the result of the adverse effects of oxidative stress, genotoxic agents, diseases related to ageing and environmental factors on the nuclear materials of dividing or non-dividing cells. Germline cells, proliferative granulosa cells, early embryos, stem cells, highly proliferative somatic cells and many cancer cells contain the enzyme telomerase so that they are capable of elongating the shortened telomeres. Although numerous studies have revealed the length of telomeres and telomerase activity in oocytes, granulosa cells and early embryos, only a few studies have analyzed and compared the work performed on distinct mammalian species. In this comprehensive review article, we compare and discuss telomere length and telomerase activity in oocytes, granulosa cells and early embryos in different mammalian species including mice, bovines and humans.
ISSN:1360-9947
1460-2407
DOI:10.1093/molehr/gat055