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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jun 8.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011 Jan;14(1):28–34. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0b013e32834121b1

Figure 1. Telomeres, the DNA–protein structures which protect chromosomes.

Figure 1

Our chromosomes end with repeats of conserved ‘TTAGGG’ sequence. These sequences interact with specific proteins and attain a looped conformation which protects chromosomal DNA from degradation. The length of telomeric DNA shortens with each cell division and when it reaches below a critical limit, the cell undergoes replicative senescence or apoptotic cell death. The length of telomeric DNA determines the lifespan of a cell in culture.