Abstract
Telomeres are the protective structures located at the ends of linear chromosomes. They were first described in the 1930s, but their biology remained unexplored until the early 70s, when Alexey M. Olovnikov, a theoretical biologist, suggested that telomeres cannot be fully copied during DNA replication. He proposed a theory that linked this phenomenon with the limit of cell proliferation capacity and the “duration of life” (theory of marginotomy), and suggested a potential of telomere lenghthening for the prevention of aging (anti-marginotomy). The impact of proliferative telomere shortening on life expectancy was later confirmed. In humans, telomere shortening is counteracted by telomerase, an enzyme that is undetectable in most adult somatic cells, but present in cancer cells and adult and embryonic stem and germ cells. Although telomere length dynamics are different in male and female gametes during gametogenesis, telomere lengths are reset at the blastocyst stage, setting the initial length of the species. The role of the telomere pathway in reproduction has been explored for years, mainly because of increased infertility resulting from delayed childbearing. Short telomere length in ovarian somatic cells is associated to decreased fertility and higher aneuploidy rates in embryos. Consequently, there is a growing interest in telomere lengthening strategies, aimed at improving fertility. It has also been observed that lifestyle factors can affect telomere length and improve fertility outcomes. In this review, we discuss the implications of telomere theory in fertility, especially in oocytes, spermatozoa, and embryos, as well as therapies to enhance reproductive success.
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Abbreviations
- ALT:
-
Alternative lengthening of telomeres
- ART:
-
Assisted reproductive technologies
- GC:
-
Granulosa cells
- NZ:
-
Normozoospermic
- OAZ:
-
Oligoasthenozoospermic
- PCOS:
-
Polycystic ovary syndrome
- POF:
-
Premature ovarian failure
- Q-FISH:
-
Quantitative fluorescence in-situ hybridization
- ROS:
-
Reactive oxygen species
- STL:
-
Sperm telomere length
- SNT:
-
Somatic nuclear transfer
- TA:
-
Telomerase activity
- TERRA:
-
Telomeric repeat-containing RNA
- TERT:
-
Telomerase REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE
- TL:
-
Telomere length
- T-SCE:
-
Telomere sister chromatid exchange
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
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The Laboratory of Telomeres and Reproduction is supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spanish Government) and co-funded by the European Union, through PI20/00252 to E.V. and by Merck (FER-ISS-2021-0243) to J.A.G.V. The Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities is funding I.C.-O. (FPU 18/04068) and A.M.P. (FPU 18/02904) along with I.C.-T. (FPU 19/03226). L.C.-S. is supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spanish Government) and co-funded by the European Union (FI19/00008). E.V. was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through a Torres Quevedo grant (PTQ-16-08242).
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All authors have contributed with specific parts of the text and/ or have revised the final manuscript. In particular: I.C-O. wrote the part "strategies to improve fertility" and made the table. AM.P. wrote the part "telomeres in embryo development". I.C-T. worte the part "telomeres in male reproductice cells". L.C-S. wrote the part "telomeres in female reproductive cells". E.V. wrote the introduction. I.C-O. AM.P. and I.C-T. made the figures. I.C-O. AM.P. and I.C-T, L.C-S. M.M., JA.G-V. and E.V. made a critical reading of the manuscript. JA.G-V. and E.V. obtained funding for the laboratory.
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Córdova-Oriz, I., Polonio, A.M., Cuadrado-Torroglosa, I. et al. Chromosome ends and the theory of marginotomy: implications for reproduction. Biogerontology 25, 227–248 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-023-10071-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-023-10071-w