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Telomerase is a good biomarker for cancer detection because most human cancer cells express high levels of it. Telomerase activity can be identified by its catalytic protein domain ( hTERT ). This [ clarify ] is the rate-limiting step in telomerase activity.
Two concerns with applying telomerase inhibitors in cancer treatment are that effective treatment requires continuous, long-term drug application and that off-target effects are common. [30] For example, the telomerase inhibitor imetelstat, first proposed in 2003, [31] [32] has been held up in clinical trials due to hematological toxicity. [30]
Cancer cells have unique features that make them "immortal" according to some researchers. The enzyme telomerase is used to extend the cancer cell's life span. While the telomeres of most cells shorten after each division, eventually causing the cell to die, telomerase extends the cell's telomeres. This is a major reason that cancer cells can ...
90% of cancers are characterized by increased telomerase activity. [28] Lung cancer is the most well characterized type of cancer associated with telomerase. [29] There is a lack of substantial telomerase activity in some cell types such as primary human fibroblasts, which become senescent after about 30–50 population doublings. [28]
Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (also known as "ALT") is a telomerase-independent mechanism by which cancer cells avoid the degradation of telomeres.. At each end of the chromosomes of most eukaryotic cells, there is a telomere: a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences which protects the end of the chromosome from deterioration or from fusion with neighboring chromosomes.
Telomerase can be reactivated and telomeres reset back to an embryonic state by somatic cell nuclear transfer. [18] The steady shortening of telomeres with each replication in somatic (body) cells may have a role in senescence [ 19 ] and in the prevention of cancer .
Telomerase can be reactivated and telomeres restored to the embryonic state by somatic cell nuclear transfer. [18] The continuous shortening of telomeres with each replication in somatic (body) cells may play a role in aging [19] and in cancer prevention.
Telomeric DNA shortens with every cell division, until it becomes so short it activates senescence, so the cell stops dividing. Cancer cells bypass this barrier by manipulating enzymes (telomerase) to increase the length of telomeres. Thus, they can divide indefinitely, without initiating senescence. [4] [9]