Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026
08:26
Semi-quantitative Detection of RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase Activity of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Protein
Published on: June 12, 2018
Telomerase recruitment to telomeres.
1Cell Biology Group, Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead, N.S.W., Australia.
Cytogenetic and Genome Research
|February 4, 2009
Summary
Cancer cells achieve indefinite growth by using telomerase to maintain telomeres, bypassing senescence. This review details how telomere binding proteins, enzyme structure, and DNA replication/damage pathways regulate telomerase recruitment.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Most cancer cells achieve immortality by utilizing telomerase to maintain telomere length, thereby evading cellular senescence.
- The proper functioning of telomerase critically depends on its precise localization to telomeres, a tightly regulated process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize recent findings on the mechanisms governing telomerase recruitment to telomeres in eukaryotes.
- To elucidate the factors influencing this fundamental process, crucial for understanding cancer cell proliferation.
Main Methods:
- This study is a review, synthesizing data from numerous recent research articles.
- Analysis of findings related to telomeric binding proteins, telomerase complex structure, cell cycle regulation, and DNA damage response pathways.
Main Results:
- Emerging evidence indicates that telomerase recruitment is a multi-factorial process.
- Key regulatory factors include specific telomeric binding proteins, the structural characteristics of the telomerase complex, cell cycle-dependent events like DNA replication, and components of the DNA damage response pathway.
Conclusions:
- Telomerase localization to telomeres is a highly regulated process essential for cancer cell immortality.
- A comprehensive understanding of telomerase recruitment involves integrating knowledge of protein interactions, enzyme structure, cell cycle control, and DNA repair mechanisms.
Related Concept Videos
02:41Telomeres and Telomerase
In eukaryotic DNA replication, a single-stranded DNA fragment remains at the end of a chromosome after the removal of the final primer. This section of DNA cannot be replicated in the same manner as the rest of the strand because there is no 3’ end to which the newly synthesized DNA can attach. This non-replicated fragment results in gradual loss of the chromosomal DNA during each cell duplication. Additionally, it can induce a DNA damage response by enzymes that recognize single-stranded DNA.
02:41Telomeres and Telomerase
In eukaryotic DNA replication, a single-stranded DNA fragment remains at the end of a chromosome after the removal of the final primer. This section of DNA cannot be replicated in the same manner as the rest of the strand because there is no 3’ end to which the newly synthesized DNA can attach. This non-replicated fragment results in gradual loss of the chromosomal DNA during each cell duplication. Additionally, it can induce a DNA damage response by enzymes that recognize single-stranded DNA.
01:29Replication in Eukaryotes
In eukaryotic cells, DNA replication is highly conserved and tightly regulated. Multiple linear chromosomes must be duplicated with high fidelity before cell division, so there are many proteins that fulfill specialized roles in the replication process. Replication occurs in three phases: initiation, elongation, and termination, and ends with two complete sets of chromosomes in the nucleus.
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
02:31Replication in Eukaryotes
Overview
02:15Replicative Cell Senescence
Replicative cell senescence is a property of cells that allows them to divide a finite number of times throughout the organism's lifespan while preventing excessive proliferation. Replicative senescence is associated with the gradual loss of the telomere — short, repetitive DNA sequences found at the end of the chromosomes. Telomeres are bound by a group of proteins to form a protective cap on the ends of chromosomes. Embryonic stem cells express telomerase — an enzyme that adds the telomeric...
02:31Chromosome Replication
Before a cell can divide, it must accurately replicate all of its chromosomes, including the DNA and its associated histone and non-histone proteins. This process begins at numerous origins of replication during the S phase of the cell cycle in each of a cell’s chromosomes simultaneously. Certain nucleotides can act as origins of replication, but these sequences are not well defined - especially in complex, multi-cellular, eukaryotic species. The length of DNA that spans an origin of...