Natural Science Center for Basic Research and Development, RIRBM, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan,
Cytotechnology. 2004 Jun;45(1-2):61-74. doi: 10.1007/s10616-004-5126-0.
Telomerase, a critical enzyme responsible 'for cellular immortality, is usually repressed in somatic cells except for lymphocytes and self-renewal cells, but is activated in approximately 85% of human cancer tissues. The human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is the catalytic component of human telomerase. In cancers in which telomerase activation occurs at the early stages of the disease, telomerase activity and hTERT expression are useful markers for the detection of cancer cells. In other cancers in which telomerase becomes upregulated upon tumor progression, they are useful as prognostic indicators. However, careful attention should be paid to false-negative results caused by the instability of telomerase and of the hTERT mRNA and the presence of PCR inhibitors, as well as to false-positive results caused by the presence of alternatively spliced hTERT mRNA and normal cells with telomerase activity. Recently, methods for the in situ detection of the hTERT mRNA and protein have been developed. These methods should facilitate the unequivocal detection of cancer cells, even in tissues containing a background of normal telomerase-positive cells.
端粒酶是一种关键的酶，负责“细胞的永生”，通常在体细胞中受到抑制，除了淋巴细胞和自我更新细胞，但在大约 85%的人类癌症组织中被激活。人端粒酶逆转录酶（hTERT）是人类端粒酶的催化成分。在端粒酶激活发生在疾病早期的癌症中，端粒酶活性和 hTERT 表达是检测癌细胞的有用标志物。在其他随着肿瘤进展而上调端粒酶的癌症中，它们可用作预后指标。然而，应该小心注意由于端粒酶和 hTERT mRNA 的不稳定性以及 PCR 抑制剂的存在而导致的假阴性结果，以及由于存在具有端粒酶活性的替代剪接 hTERT mRNA 和正常细胞而导致的假阳性结果。最近，已经开发出用于 hTERT mRNA 和蛋白质的原位检测方法。这些方法应该有助于明确检测癌细胞，即使在含有正常端粒酶阳性细胞背景的组织中也是如此。
