Baykal Atac, Thompson Jennifer A, Xu Xiao-Chun, Hahn William C, Deavers Michael T, Malpica Anais, Gershenson David M, Silva Elvio G, Liu Jinsong
Department of Pathology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Oncol Rep. 2004 Feb;11(2):297-302.
Telomerase is a ribonuclear protein reverse transcriptase that maintains telomere length in eukaryotic cells. Activation of telomerase has been implicated in human cellular immortalization and carcinogenesis. Telomerase activity in ovarian neoplasm has been studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods and shown to be correlated with malignancy. However, we believe those results must be interpreted with caution because such studies used a heterogeneous mix of cells, including normal cell type known to express telomerase when activated. The present study used in situ hybridization that allows determination of the type of cells expressing telomerase, as well as the intensity of that expression, in ovarian neoplasms. A total of 75 specimens were studied. Epithelial telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA expression was detected in 28 of 31 epithelial ovarian carcinomas, 1 of 1 malignant granulosa cell tumor, 7 of 9 serous borderline ovarian tumors, 11 of 11 mucinous borderline ovarian tumors, 4 of 5 serous cystadenofibromas, 2 of 4 serous cystadenomas, 8 of 8 mucinous cystadenomas, and 0 of 6 normal ovaries except the corpus luteum. Telomerase expression is heterogeneously found in both benign and malignant epithelial tissues. We conclude that human telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA expression does not seem to be a reliable marker for clinical use in differentiating between benign and malignant tumors.
端粒酶是一种核糖核蛋白逆转录酶，可维持真核细胞中的端粒长度。端粒酶的激活与人类细胞永生化和致癌作用有关。已使用基于聚合酶链反应（PCR）的方法研究了卵巢肿瘤中的端粒酶活性，并显示其与恶性肿瘤相关。然而，我们认为这些结果必须谨慎解释，因为此类研究使用了异质性细胞混合物，包括已知在激活时表达端粒酶的正常细胞类型。本研究使用原位杂交技术来确定卵巢肿瘤中表达端粒酶的细胞类型及其表达强度。共研究了75个标本。在31例上皮性卵巢癌中的28例、1例恶性颗粒细胞瘤、9例浆液性交界性卵巢肿瘤中的7例、11例黏液性交界性卵巢肿瘤中的11例、5例浆液性囊腺纤维瘤中的4例、4例浆液性囊腺瘤中的2例、8例黏液性囊腺瘤中的8例以及6例正常卵巢（除黄体外）中的0例中检测到上皮端粒酶逆转录酶mRNA表达。端粒酶表达在良性和恶性上皮组织中均呈异质性分布。我们得出结论，人类端粒酶逆转录酶mRNA表达似乎不是区分良性和恶性肿瘤临床应用的可靠标志物。
