Mu Jiao, Wei Li Xin
International Joint Cancer Institute, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Cell Res. 2002 Mar;12(1):1-7. doi: 10.1038/sj.cr.7290104.
Shortening of the telomeric DNA at the chromosome ends is presumed to limit the lifespan of human cells and elicit a signal for the onset of cellular senescence. To continually proliferate across the senescent checkpoint, cells must restore and preserve telomere length. This can be achieved by telomerase, which has the reverse transcriptase activity. Telomerase activity is negative in human normal somatic cells but can be detected in most tumor cells. The enzyme is proposed to be an essential factor in cell immortalization and cancer progression. In this review we discuss the structure and function of telomere and telomerase and their roles in cell immortalization and oncogenesis. Simultaneously the experimental studies of telomerase assays for cancer detection and diagnosis are reviewed. Finally, we discuss the potential use of inhibitors of telomerase in anti-cancer therapy.
染色体末端端粒DNA的缩短被认为会限制人类细胞的寿命，并引发细胞衰老开始的信号。为了在衰老检查点后持续增殖，细胞必须恢复并维持端粒长度。这可以通过具有逆转录酶活性的端粒酶来实现。端粒酶活性在人类正常体细胞中呈阴性，但在大多数肿瘤细胞中可以检测到。该酶被认为是细胞永生化和癌症进展的关键因素。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了端粒和端粒酶的结构与功能，以及它们在细胞永生化和肿瘤发生中的作用。同时，我们还综述了用于癌症检测和诊断的端粒酶检测的实验研究。最后，我们讨论了端粒酶抑制剂在抗癌治疗中的潜在应用。
