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Updated: Jul 1, 2026

Utilizing Murine Inducible Telomerase Alleles in the Studies of Tissue Degeneration/Regeneration and Cancer
Published on: April 13, 2015
Gossypol suppresses telomerase activity in human leukemia cells via regulating hTERT
Dong-Oh Moon1, Mun-Ock Kim, Yung Hyun Choi
1Faculty of Applied Marine Science, Cheju National University, Jeju 690-756, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Gossypol is a polyphenolic compound originally isolated from cottonseed that has long been used successfully as a contraceptive drug for males. However, the molecular mechanism of anti-telomerase effects of gossypol is not entirely understood. In this study, we observed direct cytotoxicity and inhibition of telomerase activity with downregulation of telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression. Gossypol treatment resulted in a decrease of c-Myc expression and binding activity. Gossypol treatment also suppressed the activation of Akt, thereby inhibiting hTERT phosphorylation and translocation into the nucleus. We conclude that gossypol regulates the loss of telomerase activity through transcriptional and posttranslational modifications of hTERT.
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