Ito H, Kyo S, Kanaya T, Takakura M, Koshida K, Namiki M, Inoue M
Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Japan.
Clin Cancer Res. 1998 Nov;4(11):2807-10.
Activation of telomerase and stabilization of telomeres are thought to be required for cellular immortality and oncogenesis. Telomerase activity is detected in >90% of various cancers, including urothelial cancers. Of the three subunits comprising telomerase complex, human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is a rate-limiting determinant of the enzymatic activity of telomerase. In the present study, spontaneously voided urine specimens from 33 patients with bladder cancer and 26 without bladder lesions were examined for the expression of hTERT mRNA, and the usefulness of detecting hTERT mRNA in urine samples for screening of bladder cancer was evaluated. RT-PCR analysis revealed that approximately 80% of urinary sediments from patients with bladder cancer expressed hTERT mRNA, regardless of clinical stage or pathological grade, whereas only 4% of sediments from patients without urothelial lesions did. Interestingly, hTERT mRNA expression was observed, even in some urine samples from bladder cancer patients with negative urinary cytology. These findings suggest that the expression of hTERT in urine sample may be a useful diagnostic marker for bladder cancer.
端粒酶的激活和端粒的稳定被认为是细胞永生化和肿瘤发生所必需的。在包括尿路上皮癌在内的90%以上的各种癌症中都检测到了端粒酶活性。在构成端粒酶复合物的三个亚基中，人端粒酶逆转录酶（hTERT）是端粒酶酶活性的限速决定因素。在本研究中，检测了33例膀胱癌患者和26例无膀胱病变患者的自发排尿尿液标本中hTERT mRNA的表达，并评估了在尿液样本中检测hTERT mRNA用于膀胱癌筛查的实用性。逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）分析显示，无论临床分期或病理分级如何，约80%的膀胱癌患者尿沉渣表达hTERT mRNA，而无尿路上皮病变患者的尿沉渣中只有4%表达。有趣的是，即使在尿细胞学检查阴性的膀胱癌患者的一些尿液样本中也观察到了hTERT mRNA表达。这些发现表明，尿液样本中hTERT的表达可能是膀胱癌的一种有用诊断标志物。
