Telomeres and telomerase: from discovery to clinical trials.
Telomeres are the ends of linear chromosomes. They cannot be fully replicated by standard polymerases and are maintained by the ribonucleoprotein telomerase. Telomeres and telomerase stand at a junction of critical processes underlying chromosome integrity, cancer, and aging, and their importance was recognized by the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Elizabeth Blackburn, Jack Szostak, and Carol Greider. Where will the field go now? What are the prospects for antitelomerase agents as drugs? Nearly 30 years after Szostak and Blackburn's pioneering manuscript on telomere ends, the challenges of discovery remain.
Corey
David R
DR
Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9041, USA. david.corey@utsouthwestern.edu
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D055808:Drug Discovery; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009613:Nobel Prize; D010827:Physiology / Q000266:history; D019098:Telomerase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D019098:Telomerase