title: Telomerase and telomere biology in hematological diseases: A new therapeutic target.
abstract: Telomeres are structures confined at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. With each cell division, telomeric repeats are lost because DNA polymerases are incapable to fully duplicate the very ends of linear chromosomes. Loss of repeats causes cell senescence, and apoptosis. Telomerase neutralizes loss of telomeric sequences by adding telomere repeats at the 3' telomeric overhang. Telomere biology is frequently associated with human cancer and dysfunctional telomeres have been proved to participate to genetic instability. This review covers the information on telomerase expression and genetic alterations in the most relevant types of hematological diseases. Telomere erosion hampers the capability of hematopoietic stem cells to effectively replicate, clinically resulting in bone marrow failure. Furthermore, telomerase mutations are genetic risk factors for the occurrence of some hematologic cancers. New discoveries in telomere structure and telomerase functions have led to an increasing interest in targeting telomeres and telomerase in anti-cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia Umana dell'Adulto e dell'Età Evolutiva "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy. Electronic address: aallegra@unime.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allegra
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia Umana dell'Adulto e dell'Età Evolutiva "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Innao
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia Umana dell'Adulto e dell'Età Evolutiva "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppa
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Penna
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia Umana dell'Adulto e dell'Età Evolutiva "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Demetrio
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gerace
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia Umana dell'Adulto e dell'Età Evolutiva "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Allegra
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Patologia Umana dell'Adulto e dell'Età Evolutiva "Gaetano Barresi", University of Messina Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Musolino
mesh_terms: D006402:Hematologic Diseases / Q000201:enzymology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009154:Mutation; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics*; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase
keywords: Aplastic anemia; Genetic instability; Hematological malignancies; Hematopoietic system; Leukemia; Telomerase; Telomere