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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
08:26
Semi-quantitative Detection of RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase Activity of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Protein
Published on: June 12, 2018
Frequent high telomerase reverse transcriptase expression in primary oral squamous cell carcinoma
Kolja Freier1, Susanne Pungs, Christa Flechtenmacher
1Klinik für Mund-Kiefer-Gesichtschirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. kolja.freier@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Summary
High human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression is common in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). This finding suggests hTERT may be a promising therapeutic target for developing new anti-cancer treatments for OSCC patients.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Gene copy number gain of 5p is frequent in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), suggesting proto-oncogene activation.
- TERT, encoding human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), is a candidate gene.
- The study investigates the significance of TERT copy number gain and high hTERT expression in OSCC.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the relevance of TERT copy number gain in OSCC.
- To assess the significance of high hTERT expression in OSCC.
- To explore TERT and hTERT as potential therapeutic targets in OSCC.
Main Methods:
- Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to analyze TERT copy numbers.
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was employed to evaluate hTERT protein expression.
- Tissue microarray (TMA) analysis was performed on 247 OSCC and 105 pharyngeal and laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas (PSCC/LSCC) samples.
Main Results:
- Increased hTERT protein expression was observed in 71.1% of OSCC cases, compared to 36.0% in PSCC/LSCC (P < 0.001).
- TERT amplifications were less frequent in OSCC (2.1%) than in PSCC/LSCC (9.9%) (P = 0.047).
Conclusions:
- High hTERT expression is a frequent characteristic of OSCC.
- hTERT represents a potential target for developing targeted anti-cancer therapies for OSCC.
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