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Complex regulatory mechanisms of telomerase activity in normal and cancer cells: How can we apply them for cancer therapy?

Oncogene volume 21, pages 688–697 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Telomerase activation is observed in almost 90% of human cancers but not in normal tissues of somatic origin and thus is a critical step for multistep carcinogenesis. A more thorough understanding of telomerase regulation may provide not only a molecular basis of cancer progression but also as a way to manipulate telomerase activity as a potential therapeutic modality. Recent progress in studies on telomerase regulation has shown that telomerase activation is achieved at various steps, including transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels of the telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene. Although a number of potentially important mechanisms of telomerase activation have been proposed, none of the current models can fully explain tumor-specific activation of telomerase, suggesting a need for further extensive analysis. This review includes a summary of recent works on telomerase regulation and a discussion of how we can overcome this situation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Jerry Shay for configuring the manuscript and providing helpful advice and discussion.

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  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kanazawa University, School of Medicine, Japan

    Satoru Kyo & Masaki Inoue

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  1. Satoru Kyo
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Kyo, S., Inoue, M. Complex regulatory mechanisms of telomerase activity in normal and cancer cells: How can we apply them for cancer therapy?. Oncogene 21, 688–697 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1205163

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