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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity; A Yin and Yang of Cell Senescence
Published on: May 22, 2013
Alternative lengthening of telomeres in human cells
R R Reddel1, T M Bryan, L M Colgin
1Children's Medical Research Institute, 214 Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, 2145 Australia.
Abstract:
Activation of a telomere maintenance mechanism appears to be essential for immortalization. In most human tumors and tumor cell lines, the telomere maintenance mechanism involves the activity of telomerase, a reverse transcriptase holoenzyme that synthesizes telomeric repeat DNA. In some cases, telomere maintenance occurs in the absence of telomerase activity by a mechanism referred to as alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The development of telomere-targeted anticancer therapies will be facilitated by an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of ALT and of the means whereby ALT is repressed in normal cells.
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