Telomere length is highly heterogeneous and varies with cell type, age, and individual. Most current measurements of telomere length use the average of cell populations. However, it is worth noting that methods to quantify the length of individual telomeres can provide valuable information about telomere length distribution.

Telomere Length Measurement in Single Cells

Thus, the ability to measure the telomere length of individual cells is important for the study of cellular senescence, age-related diseases, and human development.

CD BioSciences provides low-cost absolute measurements of the telomere length of individual chromosomes in single cells based on our scalable technology. The ability of our method to dissect telomere length in heterogeneous cell populations will help us understand the role of telomere length in development and disease.

Our Services

Based on the telomere aging clock technology platform, we offer single-cell telomere length assay technology to measure the absolute length of individual telomeres of all chromosomes in a single cell in a scalable and cost-effective manner.

• Single Cell Isolation and DNA Extraction
  First, culture the cells to be tested in conventional medium. Then isolate and lyse individual cells in PCR tubes. Next, extract the genomic DNA of the cell population.
• PCR Amplification and Product Purification
  This step is based primarily on parallel pre-amplification of telomeres with a reference gene. The pre-amplification step consists of performing a limited number of cycles of multiplex PCR in a single tube containing a single cell, in order to generate sufficient DNA for downstream qPCR while maintaining a natural proportion of the target sequence.
• Single-cell Telomere Measurements
  Perform qPCR on the pre-PCR purified product of each cell plus primers. Analyze the amplification and assay results with the software and calculate the relative telomere length of individual cells from the T/R ratio.

Sample Types

We provide measurement solutions for different samples, with specific sample requirements in the table below.

Items	Requirement
Sample source	DNA can be obtained from a variety of samples containing nucleic acids, such as blood, saliva, urine, plasma, serum, solid tissue, etc.
DNA purification method	You can use a variety of commercial kits for DNA purification including phenol/chloroform extraction, cesium chloride gradients, and other techniques.
Note	Our assays require very small amounts of DNA samples and are not restricted to any cell or tissue type.

What Can be Used for

• Simple, reliable, and high-quality analysis of telomere length in individual cells.
• Dissecting telomere length in heterogeneous cell populations will help understand the role of telomere length in development and disease.
• Facilitate the identification and functional study of cancer stem cells and pluripotent stem cells.
• Understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the variation of individual cells during development, disease, aging, and tumorigenesis.

Our Advantages

• Ability to determine telomere length at the individual level for cell and tissue samples
• Ability to provide personalized information on telomeres or very short telomeres
• More quantitative and repeatable measurement solutions

CD BioSciences is committed to meeting all your requirements for telomere measurements. If you have any telomere research needs, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Reference

1. Wang F, et al. Robust measurement of telomere length in single cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2013, 110(21): E1906-12.

Our services are for research use only and not for any clinical use.