Harley C B, Villeponteau B
Geron Corporation, Menlo Park, USA.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 1995 Apr;5(2):249-55. doi: 10.1016/0959-437x(95)80016-6.
Telomeres are maintained by the novel ribonucleoprotein enzyme telomerase. Telomerase activity is repressed in most somatic human cells, leading to telomere loss during replicative aging in vivo and in vitro. However, telomerase appears to be reactivated in essentially all human cancers. With the recent cloning of the RNA component of telomerase from several species, the stage is now set for critical tests of the role of telomeres and telomerase in aging and cancer.
端粒由新型核糖核蛋白酶端粒酶维持。在大多数人体体细胞中，端粒酶活性受到抑制，导致在体内和体外复制性衰老过程中端粒丢失。然而，在几乎所有人类癌症中，端粒酶似乎都被重新激活。随着最近从几个物种中克隆出端粒酶的RNA成分，现在已为端粒和端粒酶在衰老和癌症中的作用进行关键测试做好了准备。
