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Related Experiment Videos

Telomerase enzyme activation and human cell immortalization.

M Meyerson1

  • 1Department of Adult Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. matthew_meyerson@dfci.harvard.edu

Toxicology Letters
|February 18, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Telomerase activity, essential for maintaining telomere length, is repressed in normal cells but active in cancers. Its catalytic subunit, hTERT, is crucial for cell lifespan and cancer progression.

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Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Telomerase synthesizes telomeres, maintaining chromosome ends.
  • Activity is repressed in normal somatic cells but active in most cancers.
  • Normal cells without telomerase activity lose telomere sequences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To define the role of telomerase subunits in mammalian cell lifespan.
  • To investigate the expression and function of the human telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT).

Main Methods:

  • Identification and characterization of telomerase subunits (RNA and catalytic protein).
  • Analysis of hTERT gene expression in immortalized cells and tumors.
  • Ectopic expression of hTERT in telomerase-negative cells.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Gene disruption of the mouse telomerase RNA subunit (mTERC).

    • Main Results:

    • The catalytic subunit of telomerase belongs to the reverse transcriptase family.
    • hTERT expression is induced in immortalized cells and primary tumors.
    • Ectopic hTERT expression in telomerase-negative cells leads to telomerase activity and extended lifespan.
    • Disruption of mTERC causes delayed cell proliferation failure.

    Conclusions:

    • Telomerase activity is necessary for the prolonged survival of mammalian cells.
    • Telomerase subunits, particularly hTERT, play a critical role in controlling cell lifespan.
    • Telomerase is a key factor in cellular immortality and cancer development.