Telomerase: diagnostics, cancer therapeutics and tissue engineering.
The enzyme telomerase has a key role in controlling the lifespan of human cells. It is absent from most somatic tissues but is reactivated in more than 85% of cancers, making the enzyme ideal as a marker of cancer cells and as a therapeutic target. In the context of normal human cells, the enzyme can extend cellular lifespan without causing cancer-associated changes or altering phenotypic properties. This capability could solve a major obstacle in the use of normal human cells for tissue engineering, that is, the induction of cellular senescence.
Ouellette
Michel M.
MM
The Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, The University of Nebraska Medical Center, 986805 Nebraska Medical Center, 68198, tel: +1 402 559 5556 fax: +1 402 559 4651, Omaha, NE, USA
Lee
Kwangmoon
K