Researchers find shortened telomeres linked to dysfunction in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have made a discovery about muscular dystrophy disorders that suggest new possibilities for treatment. In a study published today online in Stem Cell Reports, researchers found that stem cells in the muscles of muscular dystrophy patients may, at an early age, lose their ability to regenerate new muscle, due to shortened telomeres.

Telomeres are tail-like chains of DNA at the ends of chromosomes that protect chromosomes during cell division. In many cell types, telomeres also serve as biological countdown clocks, being shortened with every cell division until their reduced length triggers the death of the cell or an inactive, non-dividing state called senescence. The team found that telomeres specifically in muscle stem cells are abnormally short in teenage boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), as well as in young mice with the same genetic disorder. The finding of shortened telomeres could help explain why prior research has found defects in the functions of muscle stem cells from muscular dystrophy patients.

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