title: Quantitative assessment of telomerase activity and human telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA levels in pancreatic juice samples for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
abstract: Measurement of telomerase activity is a promising diagnostic tool for pancreatic cancer. Detection of mRNA for human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), a catalytic subunit of telomerase, is also a diagnostic candidate. In the present study, we developed a telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay with real-time PCR and a protocol for quantification of hTERT mRNA with real-time PCR. To evaluate the feasibility of these methods for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, we measured telomerase activity and hTERT expression in pancreatic cancer cell lines, pancreatic tissues, and pancreatic juice samples from patients with different pancreatic diseases. There were significant correlations between telomerase activity and hTERT expression in cell lines, tissues, and juice samples. The levels of telomerase activity and hTERT expression were significantly higher in tumoral tissues than in nontumoral tissues. In pancreatic juice specimens, some carcinoma samples showed remarkably high expression of hTERT. However, there were no significant differences in hTERT expression between patients with carcinoma and those with benign diseases, although significant differences in telomerase activity were observed. Our present results suggest that the combined assessment of hTERT and telomerase activities in pancreatic juice provides a potent diagnostic method for pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. kenoki@surg1.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kenoki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohuchida
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizumoto
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ogura
authors.forename: Nami
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Eishi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010189:Pancreatic Juice / Q000201:enzymology*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; C422952:telomerase RNA; D012313:RNA; D019098:Telomerase