[The direct effect of anticancer agents on the telomerase activity in human cancer cell lines].
Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein that maintains the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, is expressed in the majority of malignant cells, while most normal somatic cells have no telomerase activity except germline and stem cells. Therefore, telomerase activity is considered one of important characteristics of tumors. In reviewing the possibility that conventional anticancer agents can partly perform their functions through modulation of telomerase. Several data including ours suggest that the down-modulation of telomerase activity along with inhibition by agents is the secondary event associated with cell death. Moreover, cells growth arrested at specific phase of cell cycle by agents still show the high level of telomerase activity. Since telomerase activity well correlates to the cell viability of treated cells, to study telomerase provides us a new implement to examine the sensitivity of cancer cells to agents.
Akiyama
M
M
Department of Pediatrics, Jikei University School of Medicine.
Yamada
H
H
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D019098:Telomerase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D019098:Telomerase