Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Telomerase. A target for anticancer therapy.

S P Lichtsteiner1, J S Lebkowski, A P Vasserot

  • 1Geron Corporation, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA. slichtsteiner@geron.com

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|February 10, 2000
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

In vivo characterization of transplanted human embryonic stem cell-derived pancreatic endocrine islet cells.

Cell proliferation·2008
Same author

Human embryonic stem cells: culture, differentiation, and genetic modification for regenerative medicine applications.

Cancer journal (Sudbury, Mass.)·2002
Same author

The telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter drives efficacious tumor suicide gene therapy while preventing hepatotoxicity encountered with constitutive promoters.

Gene therapy·2001
Same author

Expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit, hTERT, induces resistance to transforming growth factor beta growth inhibition in p16INK4A(-) human mammary epithelial cells.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2001
Same author

Induction of cytotoxic T cell responses and tumor immunity against unrelated tumors using telomerase reverse transcriptase RNA transfected dendritic cells.

Nature medicine·2000
Same author

Expression of the hTERT gene is regulated at the level of transcriptional initiation and repressed by Mad1.

Cancer research·2000

Telomerase, an enzyme reactivated in most cancers, enables unlimited tumor cell growth by maintaining telomere length. Inhibiting telomerase offers a promising anticancer therapy with potentially few side effects due to its absence in normal tissues.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Telomerase is typically absent in normal tissues but reactivated in most cancers.
  • This reactivation allows cancer cells to maintain telomere length and achieve indefinite replicative potential.
  • Telomerase is considered essential for unlimited cancer cell proliferation, though not sufficient for initial tumor formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate telomerase as a therapeutic target for cancer.
  • To validate the role of telomerase inhibition in cancer cell death.
  • To explore the potential for targeted telomerase inhibition with minimal side effects.

Main Methods:

  • Studies utilized antisense technology to inhibit the human telomerase RNA component ex vivo.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Experiments were conducted on human tumor cell lines.
  • Telomere length and cell viability were assessed following telomerase inhibition.

    • Main Results:

    • Telomerase inhibition in human tumor lines led to telomere shortening.
    • Inhibition resulted in cancer cell death, validating its efficacy.
    • Telomerase expression is dichotomous in normal versus cancer cells, suggesting targeted therapy potential.

    Conclusions:

    • Telomerase is a validated target for anticancer drug discovery.
    • Inhibiting telomerase offers a promising therapeutic strategy for various cancers.
    • The selective expression of telomerase in cancer cells suggests a favorable safety profile for targeted therapies.