Telomere Lenght: regulation and the aging process: from bench to bed _ Summer School

Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures localized at vertebrate chromosome ends. With age, replicating somatic cells, telomeres display progressive shortening leading cells to acquire critically short and dysfunctional telomeres triggering replicative senescence or apoptosis. Short telomere length (TL) limits replicative potential of stem cells high-turnover tissues and is linked with higher senescence. In humans, short leukocyte TL (LTL) is associated with decreased longevity, and several age-related degenerative diseases. The impact of TL dynamics (TL at birth and lifelong attrition) is presently at the center of many fundamental and clinical studies but also of very exciting debates. The aim of this Summer School is to present the current knowledge on the connection between biological, clinical and epidemiological aspects of TL dynamics.