as stated in title, for example, why do red blood cells live and die in a matter of a few months, but cardiac and oocyte cells last for up to 50 years? i understand it has to do with telomeres somewhat, but vaguely. can anyone elaborate?
In: 24
Sometimes it is because what the cell is doing is inherently so damaging that they break apart quickly I need to be replaced. That is what is driving the quick turn over of your red blood cells.
In other cases it is what is known as thanatosis, or programmed cell death. This is more common in cells which are not destroyed by what they are doing, but which still need to be broken down and replaced for onereason or another. For instance, the cells that make your bones are replaced because even though they are not being damaged, you constantly break down and reabsorb your bone in order to keep your bone strong.
For cells that don’t have either of these issues it is usually better to just keep them going as long as possible so they don’t tend to have a shelf life. Your neurons and muscle cells are almost all the same ones you were born with.
The issue with telemeres is not the life of a single cell, but rather how many times the cells of your body can reproduce before they stopped being able to. This will never be an issue for long-lived cells, but for cells that have to divide more quickly like the cells which produce your blood cells, then with them it ultimately sets a limit on how long you or any other organism can live.
Latest Answers