title: Telomerase: Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde?
abstract: The past year has seen the ectopic expression of human telomerase and the consequent increased replicative lifespan of cells, whereas mice lacking telomerase have lived and reproduced for six generations. Core telomerase activity from various organisms was reconstituted in vitro, yet how its action is regulated remains largely unknown. Telomerase activation preceded oncogenic transformation in some human cell types, yet was lacking in other transformed cells. These advances highlight the potentials of telomerase-based therapeutics and warn of their pitfalls.
authors.affiliation: University of California San Francisco Deptartment of Microbiology and Immunology San Francisco, California 94143-0414, USA. prescott@socrates.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Prescott
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Blackburn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D016615:Telomere
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase