Abstract
Werner syndrome is a premature aging disease caused by the mutation in the WRN gene. The cloning and characterization of the WRN gene and its product allows investigators to study the disease and the human aging process at molecular level. This review summarizes the recent progresses on various aspects of the WRN research including functional analysis of the protein, interactive cloning, complexes formation, mouse models, and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). These in depth investigations have greatly advanced our understanding of the disease and elucidated future research direction for Werner syndrome and the human aging process.