title: In situ human telomerase reverse transcriptase expression pattern in normal and neoplastic ovarian tissues.
abstract: Telomerase is a ribonuclear protein reverse transcriptase that maintains telomere length in eukaryotic cells. Activation of telomerase has been implicated in human cellular immortalization and carcinogenesis. Telomerase activity in ovarian neoplasm has been studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods and shown to be correlated with malignancy. However, we believe those results must be interpreted with caution because such studies used a heterogeneous mix of cells, including normal cell type known to express telomerase when activated. The present study used in situ hybridization that allows determination of the type of cells expressing telomerase, as well as the intensity of that expression, in ovarian neoplasms. A total of 75 specimens were studied. Epithelial telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA expression was detected in 28 of 31 epithelial ovarian carcinomas, 1 of 1 malignant granulosa cell tumor, 7 of 9 serous borderline ovarian tumors, 11 of 11 mucinous borderline ovarian tumors, 4 of 5 serous cystadenofibromas, 2 of 4 serous cystadenomas, 8 of 8 mucinous cystadenomas, and 0 of 6 normal ovaries except the corpus luteum. Telomerase expression is heterogeneously found in both benign and malignant epithelial tissues. We conclude that human telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA expression does not seem to be a reliable marker for clinical use in differentiating between benign and malignant tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Atac
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baykal
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Xiao-Chun
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Deavers
authors.forename: Anais
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malpica
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Gershenson
authors.forename: Elvio G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Jinsong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D003338:Corpus Luteum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D003537:Cystadenoma / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000235:genetics*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D010053:Ovary / Q000201:enzymology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012016:Reference Values; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019098:Telomerase