Telomere Diagnostics, Inc.

University of California

Jue Lin

Calvin B Harley

Karl J Guegler

Elizabeth H Blackburn

Synthia H Mellon

Yajing Hu

Owen M Wolkowitz

Elissa S Epel

This invention provides methods and materials for measuring telomere abundance from chromosomes in a sample having telomeres within a pre-determined length range, e.g., short telomeres up to a certain length. The methods can involve a first step of performing a time-limited extension reaction calibrated to produce extension products from a double-stranded chromosomal DNA template of no more than a defined length, and a second step of amplifying, from the extension products, sequences bounded by a sub-telomeric sequence and the anchor sequence, to produce a length-limited telomere sequence product. The abundance of telomeric sequences in this product can be measured, and the measures can be correlated to a variety of indices.

Measures of short telomere abundance

Disclosed are methods and compositions for determining the average length or abundance of a first target nucleic by calculating the abundance of a first target nucleic acid (T) relative to the average abundance (S) of a second and a third target nucleic acid, in a single well using a separate detection label for each target nucleic acid. In various aspects, the first target nucleic acid is a telomere. In exemplary aspects, the disclosed methods and compositions can be used to determine the average telomere length in a biological sample. The average telomere length determined using the disclosed methods and compositions can be correlated to a variety of clinically important conditions and indices. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

Multiplex quantitative PCR

The present invention provides methods of determining whether a subject is a suitable candidate for an anti-depressant treatment to alleviate a mood disorder by measuring telomere length and telomerase activity. The present invention also provides methods of assessing the efficacy of an anti-depressant treatment to alleviate a mood disorder and of predicting whether a subject is at risk of developing depression.

Cell aging as a unique biomarker of major depression

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Foster City, CA, United States of America

Jue Lin