Telomere length maintenance

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-027767",
  "term": "Telomere length maintenance",
  "field": "Environment",
  "term_source": "Telomere Length Maintenance",
  "definition": "Telomeres in human cancer cells consist of a tandem array of telomeric DNA repeats bound to a specialized telomeric proteins. Telomeres allow cells to distinguish natural chromosome ends from damaged DNA. When telomere function is disrupted, a potentially lethal DNA damage response can ensue, DNA repair activities threaten the integrity of chromosome ends, and extensive genome instability can arise. Both telomerase and recombination can lengthen telomeres.",
  "subject": "Biological substances",
  "references": [
    "National Cancer Institute Thesaurus"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/telomere-length-maintenance/"
}