Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 23, 2025

Telomerase Activity in the Various Regions of Mouse Brain: Non-Radioactive Telomerase Repeat Amplification Protocol TRAP Assay
Published on: September 2, 2014
Research progress of small-molecule drugs in targeting telomerase in human cancer and aging
Ziyi Shen1, Yuanhui Wang1, Guanzhen Wang2
1School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.
Abstract:
Telomeres are unique structures located at the ends of linear chromosomes, responsible for stabilizing chromosomal structures. They are synthesized by telomerase, a reverse transcriptase ribonucleoprotein complex. Telomerase activity is generally absent in human somatic cells, except in stem cells and germ cells. Every time a cell divides, the telomere sequence is shortened, eventually leading to replicative senescence and cell apoptosis when the telomeres reach a critical limit. However, most human cancer cells exhibit increased telomerase activity, allowing them to divide continuously. The importance of telomerase in cancer and aging has made developing drugs targeting telomerase a focus of research. Such drugs can inhibit cancer cell growth and delay aging by enhancing telomerase activity in telomere-related syndromes or diseases. This review provides an overview of telomeres, telomerase, and their regulation in cancer and aging, and highlights small-molecule drugs targeting telomerase in these fields.
Related Concept Videos
Telomeres and Telomerase
Replicative Cell Senescence
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Replication in Eukaryotes
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
Mitochondria

