The telomerase tale in vascular aging: regulation by estrogens and nitric oxide signaling

Hormones and nitric oxide (NO), a free radical, are ancestral molecules, conserved through evolution, that modulate many aspects of the physiology and pathophysiology of living organisms by regulating transcription of genes involved in development, metabolism, and differentiation. Of interest, both estrogen and NO signaling, specifically through the estrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha) and the endothelial isoform of the nitric oxide synthase …