Aging is a universal and time-dependent biological decline associated with progressive deterioration of cells, tissues, and organs. Age-related decay can eventually lead to pathology such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and diabetes. A prominent molecular process underlying aging is the progressive shortening of telomeres, the structures that protect the ends of chromosomes, eventually triggering cellular senescence. Noncoding (nc)RNAs are emerging as major regulators of telomere length homeostasis. In this review, we describe the impact of ncRNAs on telomere function and discuss their implications in senescence and age-related diseases. We discuss emerging therapeutic strategies targeting telomere-regulatory ncRNAs in aging pathology.

衰老是与细胞，组织和器官的逐步退化有关的普遍且随时间变化的生物学衰退。与年龄有关的衰变最终会导致诸如心血管和神经退行性疾病，癌症和糖尿病等病理。衰老的一个重要分子过程是端粒的逐渐缩短，端粒是保护染色体末端的结构，最终触发细胞衰老。非编码（nc）RNA逐渐成为端粒长度稳态的主要调节因子。在这篇综述中，我们描述了ncRNA对端粒功能的影响，并讨论了它们在衰老和与年龄有关的疾病中的意义。我们讨论了针对衰老病理学中端粒调节ncRNAs的新兴治疗策略。