title: Drug insight: Cancer cell immortality-telomerase as a target for novel cancer gene therapies.
abstract: Rapid advances in our understanding of the molecular basis of cancer development and progression over the past three decades have led to the design of new potential cancer therapies. High throughput target validation and expression studies are expected to yield a powerful arsenal of new cancer treatments, but untangling the complex pathways underlying the major cancer phenotypes remains a significant challenge. A considerable body of evidence in recent years implicates deregulated expression of a single multi-component enzyme, telomerase, as a causative factor at the heart of immortalization in the vast majority of human tumors. This review highlights the potential of telomerase as a target for novel cancer therapies. The potential of exploiting the selectivity of the telomerase family of genes within cancer cells to develop gene therapy strategies is discussed, and the progress towards translating these novel therapeutics from the laboratory to the clinic is reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Telomerase Therapeutics Program, CRUK Centre for Oncology and Applied Pharmacology, Glasgow, UK. n.keith@beatson.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: W Nicol
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Keith
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bilsland
authors.forename: Maryon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hardie
authors.forename: T R Jeffry
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D016923:Cell Death / Q000502:physiology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000378:metabolism; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012313:RNA / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D019098:Telomerase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D016615:Telomere / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D011355:Prodrugs; C422952:telomerase RNA; D012313:RNA; D019098:Telomerase