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Updated: Jun 4, 2026
08:01
Generation and Expansion of Primary, Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Tumor Lines
Published on: April 21, 2022
Telomerase activity in pleural malignant mesotheliomas.
Amy Y M Au1, Torben Hackl, Thomas R Yeager
1Children's Medical Research Institute, 214 Hawkesbury Road, Westmead, New South Wales 2145, Australia.
Lung Cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
|February 1, 2011
Summary
Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) exclusively utilizes telomerase for cell immortalization, indicating potential effectiveness of anti-telomerase therapies for this cancer.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) has a poor prognosis, necessitating novel treatment strategies.
- Cellular immortalization, a key cancer hallmark, relies on telomere length maintenance mechanisms (TMMs), either telomerase or alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT).
- TMMs are recognized as promising therapeutic targets, with telomerase inhibitors already in clinical trials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To ascertain the prevalence of ALT and/or telomerase activity in MPM.
- To investigate the susceptibility of pleural mesothelial cells to telomerase activation.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of telomerase and ALT activity in 43 MPM samples using TRAP, C-circle assay, and terminal restriction fragment analyses.
- In vitro immortalization model using normal pleural mesothelial cells transduced with SV40 oncogenes to study TMM activation.
Main Results:
- All 43 (100%) examined MPMs exhibited telomerase activity and lacked ALT activity.
- Normal pleural mesothelial cells were TMM-negative, and SV40 oncogene expression did not directly induce TMM activation.
- Cellular immortalization in vitro was associated with TMM activation, with pleural mesothelial cells capable of activating either TMM.
Conclusions:
- The consistent telomerase positivity in MPM suggests in vivo factors favor its selection during oncogenesis.
- MPM represents a viable target for anti-telomerase therapy.
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