Reviews on Selected Topics of Telomere Biology by Bibo Li pptx

REVIEWS ON SELECTED TOPICS OF TELOMERE BIOLOGY Edited by Bibo Li Reviews on Selected Topics of Telomere Biology http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/2329 Edited by Bibo Li Contributors Radhika Muzumdar, Gil Atzmon, Sergey Shpiz, Alla Kalmykova, Jiří Nehyba, Radmila Hrdličková, Henry R. Bose, Jr., Güvem Gümüş-Akay, Ajlan Tükün, Didem Turgut Cosan, Ahu Soyocak, Sena Aydos, Cigir Biray Avci, Bibo Li, Arkasubhra Ghosh, Vinay Tergaonkar, Konrad Ocalewicz Published by InTech Janeza Trdine 9, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia Copyright © 2012 InTech All chapters are Open Access distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles even for commercial purposes, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. After this work has been published by InTech, authors have the right to republish it, in whole or part, in any publication of which they are the author, and to make other personal use of the work. Any republication, referencing or personal use of the work must explicitly identify the original source. Notice Statements and opinions expressed in the chapters are these of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of the editors or publisher. No responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of information contained in the published chapters. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any damage or injury to persons or property arising out of the use of any materials, instructions, methods or ideas contained in the book. Publishing Process Manager Oliver Kurelic Typesetting InTech Prepress, Novi Sad Cover InTech Design Team First published November, 2012 Printed in Croatia A free online edition of this book is available at www.intechopen.com Additional hard copies can be obtained from orders@intechopen.com Reviews on Selected Topics of Telomere Biology, Edited by Bibo Li p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0849-8 Contents Preface IX Section 1 Telomere Length and Its Regulation 1 Chapter 1 Telomere Length and Aging 3 Radhika Muzumdar and Gil Atzmon Chapter 2 Control of Telomere Length in Drosophila 31 Sergey Shpiz and Alla Kalmykova Chapter 3 The Regulation of Telomerase by Alternative Splicing of TERT 57 Jiří Nehyba, Radmila Hrdličková and Henry R. Bose, Jr. Section 2 Telomeres and Human Diseases 93 Chapter 4 Telomere and Telomerase in Cancer: Recent Progress 95 Güvem Gümüş-Akay and Ajlan Tükün Chapter 5 Inhibiting Telomerase Activity and Inducing Apoptosis in Cancer Cells by Several Natural Food Compounds 123 Didem Turgut Cosan and Ahu Soyocak Chapter 6 Telomeres and Reproductive Aging 149 Sena Aydos Chapter 7 Telomeres and Lifestyle Choices 175 Cigir Biray Avci Chapter 8 Telomere as an Important Player in Regulation of Microbial Pathogen Virulence 195 Bibo Li Section 3 Noncanonical Functions of the Telomere 241 Chapter 9 Extra-Telomeric Roles of Telomeric Proteins 243 Arkasubhra Ghosh and Vinay Tergaonkar VI Contents Section 4 Telomere DNA and Its Evolution 269 Chapter 10 Genomic Distribution of Telomeric DNA Sequences – What Do We Learn from Fish About Telomere Evolution? 271 Konrad Ocalewicz Preface The sequence of Tetrahymena telomere DNA was the first to be determined among all eukaryotes by Elizabeth (Liz) Blackburn and Joseph Gall in 1978, and the yeast telomere was first cloned by Jack Szostak and Liz Blackburn in 1982. A few years later, the telomerase activity was first identified in Tetrahymena by Carol Greider and Liz Blackburn in 1985. These discoveries are miles stones marking the beginning of molecular era of telomere biology. Since then a tremendous amount of studies have demonstrated that telomeres are essential for genome stability and integrity, and maintaining telomere length homeostasis is the prerequisite for normal chromosome end protection. The significance of telomere study is highlighted by the 2009 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Liz Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak for their discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Although the award is no doubt one of the most exciting events in the history of telomere biology, by no means it signals that we have reached the peak of telomere research. The golden era of telomere studies continues, and the telomere field is still moving at a strong and fast pace. New findings about telomere functions and the underlying mechanisms are revealed every day. Particularly, there are more and more studies linking telomere dysfunction to a number of human diseases. Not only are telomere functions implicated in aging and age-related diseases, they are also important for microbial pathogen virulence. In addition, as our knowledge about telomere components expands, new non-telomeric roles of telomere proteins are revealed. This book includes several current reviews on a few selected topics of telomere biology, including telomere length maintenance and its regulation, telomere and human diseases, novel extra-telomeric functions of telomere proteins, and finally a touch on telomere sequence evolution. We hope reviewing available data would help us to focus better on future research directions and make faster progresses in understanding various aspects of telomere functions. Bibo Li Center for Gene Regulation in Health & Disease Dept. of Biological, Geo. & Env. Sciences, Cleveland State University, USA . REVIEWS ON SELECTED TOPICS OF TELOMERE BIOLOGY Edited by Bibo Li Reviews on Selected Topics of Telomere Biology http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/2329. Reviews on Selected Topics of Telomere Biology, Edited by Bibo Li p. cm. ISBN 978-953-51-0849-8 Contents Preface IX Section 1 Telomere