Telomere length: a review of methods for measurement.
Telomere length: a review of methods for measurement.
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DOI：
10.1097/nnr.0000000000000037
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发表时间：
2014-07
期刊：
影响因子：
2.5
通讯作者：
Jackson-Cook CK
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Montpetit AJ;Alhareeri AA;Montpetit M;Starkweather AR;Elmore LW;Filler K;Mohanraj L;Burton CW;Menzies VS;Lyon DE;Jackson-Cook CK
端粒缩短与许多健康状况相关，并且端粒长度可以根据社会和环境暴露而改变，这一令人兴奋的发现强调了需要准确、一致地量化端粒长度的方法。本文的目的是提供一个全面的总结，比较和对比当前用于评估端粒长度的技术。已经开发了多种方法来研究端粒。这些技术包括通过末端限制性片段化来量化端粒长度——这是最早用于长度评估的工具之一——使其成为端粒生物学的黄金标准。定量 PCR 的优点是能够使用较少量的 DNA，从而适合涉及大量人群的流行病学研究。另一种方法使用荧光探针不仅可以量化平均端粒长度，还可以量化染色体特异性端粒长度。然而，这种方法的缺点是它只能用于有丝分裂活跃的细胞。还审查了允许评估染色体特异性端粒子集或显示缩短的端粒子集长度的其他方法。鉴于端粒评估作为生理、心理和生物行为研究中生物标志物的实用性不断增加，研究人员熟悉用于测量端粒长度的各种程序的方法上的细微差别非常重要。这将确保他们有权选择最佳的评估方法来满足其研究设计的需求。更好地了解各种测量技术的优点和缺点不仅对于个体研究很重要，而且对于进一步建立端粒与生物行为现象关联的科学也很重要。
The exciting discovery that telomere shortening is associated with many health conditions, and that telomere lengths can be altered in response to social and environmental exposures, has underscored the need for methods to accurately and consistently quantify telomere length. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive summary that compares and contrasts the current technologies used to assess telomere length. Multiple methods have been developed for the study of telomeres. These techniques include quantification of telomere length by terminal restriction fragmentation—which was one of the earliest tools used for length assessment—making it the gold standard in telomere biology. Quantitative-PCR provides the advantage of being able to use smaller amounts of DNA, thereby making it amenable to epidemiology studies involving large numbers of people. An alternative method uses fluorescent probes to quantify not only mean telomere lengths, but also chromosome-specific telomere lengths; however, the downside of this approach is that it can only be used on mitotically active cells. Additional methods that permit assessment of the length of a subset of chromosome-specific telomeres, or the subset of telomeres that demonstrate shortening, are also reviewed. Given the increased utility for telomere assessments as a biomarker in physiological, psychological and biobehavioral research, it is important that investigators become familiar with the methodological nuances of the various procedures used for measuring telomere length. This will ensure that they are empowered to select an optimal assessment approach to meet the needs of their study designs. Gaining a better understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of various measurement techniques is important not only in individual studies, but also to further establish the science of telomere associations with biobehavioral phenomena.