Topic
Telomere
About: Telomere is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 10984 publications have been published within this topic receiving 698341 citations. The topic is also known as: GO:0000781 & telomere.
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TL;DR: A highly sensitive assay for measuring telomerase activity was developed in this paper, which showed that telomerases appear to be stringently repressed in normal human somatic tissues but reactivated in cancer, where immortal cells are likely required to maintain tumor growth.
Abstract: Synthesis of DNA at chromosome ends by telomerase may be necessary for indefinite proliferation of human cells. A highly sensitive assay for measuring telomerase activity was developed. In cultured cells representing 18 different human tissues, 98 of 100 immortal and none of 22 mortal populations were positive for telomerase. Similarly, 90 of 101 biopsies representing 12 human tumor types and none of 50 normal somatic tissues were positive. Normal ovaries and testes were positive, but benign tumors such as fibroids were negative. Thus, telomerase appears to be stringently repressed in normal human somatic tissues but reactivated in cancer, where immortal cells are likely required to maintain tumor growth.
7,033 citations
TL;DR: In this article, two telomerase-negative normal human cell types, retinal pigment epithelial cells and foreskin fibroblasts, were transfected with vectors encoding the human telomere catalytic subunit.
Abstract: Normal human cells undergo a finite number of cell divisions and ultimately enter a nondividing state called replicative senescence. It has been proposed that telomere shortening is the molecular clock that triggers senescence. To test this hypothesis, two telomerase-negative normal human cell types, retinal pigment epithelial cells and foreskin fibroblasts, were transfected with vectors encoding the human telomerase catalytic subunit. In contrast to telomerase-negative control clones, which exhibited telomere shortening and senescence, telomerase-expressing clones had elongated telomeres, divided vigorously, and showed reduced staining for β-galactosidase, a biomarker for senescence. Notably, the telomerase-expressing clones have a normal karyotype and have already exceeded their normal life-span by at least 20 doublings, thus establishing a causal relationship between telomere shortening and in vitro cellular senescence. The ability to maintain normal human cells in a phenotypically youthful state could have important applications in research and medicine.
4,870 citations
TL;DR: The DNA of telomeres—the terminal DNA-protein complexes of chromosomes—differs notably from other DNA sequences in both structure and function, and has been shown to be essential for telomere maintenance and long-term viability.
Abstract: The DNA of telomeres--the terminal DNA-protein complexes of chromosomes--differs notably from other DNA sequences in both structure and function. Recent work has highlighted its remarkable mode of synthesis by the ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase, telomerase, as well as its ability to form unusual structures in vitro. Moreover, telomere synthesis by telomerase has been shown to be essential for telomere maintenance and long-term viability.
3,139 citations
TL;DR: A primer pair is presented that eliminates the problem of presumed impossible to measure telomeres in vertebrate DNA by PCR amplification with oligonucleotide primers designed to hybridize to the TTAGGG and CCCTAA repeats, allowing simple and rapid measurement of telomere length in a closed tube, fluorescence-based assay.
Abstract: It has long been presumed impossible to measure telomeres in vertebrate DNA by PCR amplification with oligonucleotide primers designed to hybridize to the TTAGGG and CCCTAA repeats, because only primer dimer-derived products are expected. Here we present a primer pair that eliminates this problem, allowing simple and rapid measurement of telomeres in a closed tube, fluorescence-based assay. This assay will facilitate investigations of the biology of telomeres and the roles they play in the molecular pathophysiology of diseases and aging.
3,014 citations
TL;DR: All major types of cancer have been screened and the presence of telomerase activity has been detected in the vast majority of cases, and a summary, in table form, of the current data is provided.
2,762 citations