TELOMERE BIOLOGY: TELOMERE STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND RELATED DISEASES

Telomere is the special heterochromatin structure which caps the end of eukaryotic chromosome and ensures the faithful replication of genetic materials. It also provides the protection against DNA damage signals and ensures the genome integrity and stability. Telomerase complete its task by its unique nucleoprotein structure. Here in this paper detail about nucleoprotein structure and their function is included. Robustness of function of telomere across cell cycle is guaranteed by the interaction between telomere and its interacting proteins. Recent findings regarding telomere biology and cancer are also included in this paper. KEY WORDS: Telomere, DNA damage, cell cycle, cancer