How could a mutation in telomerase cause stem cell diseaseSo

How could a mutation in telomerase cause stem cell disease?

Solution

Telomerase is an enzyme which adds DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequence repeats, (5^’-TTAGGG-3^’ in all vertebrates) to the 3^’ ends of the DNA in the telomere regions. Telomeres are the non-coding DNA sequences present at the very ends of chromosomes. These telomeres prevent the loss of important genes (DNA) from chromosome ends during the process of DNA replication.

As long as the stem cells express this telomerase enzyme, the cell cycle process continues and cells become immortal. Thus, abnormality in telomerase activity due to mutation can lead to stem cell disease.