REDUCED TELOMERE LENGTH IN ATAXIA-TELANGIECTASIA FIBROBLASTS

Chromosomal instability with a high frequency of telomere fusion is ch aracteristic of ataxia-telangiectasia cells both in vivo and in vitro. We have measured telomere length and found it to be consistently redu ced in both diploid and SV40-transformed cells A-T fibroblasts, relati ve to control cells, We examined a few possible mechanisms which might account for telomeric length reduction, including telomerase activity in transformed cells and endogenous nuclease activities, but found no differences between A-T and control cells in these parameters.