Oglionucleotides that Interfere in Telomerase Activity Without Killing Cells

It seems reasonable to think that sabotaging the lengthening of telomeres might prove to be the basis for a universal cancer therapy, capable of shutting down all cancers. Unfettered telomere lengthening is required by all cancers in order to permit rampant replication and growth. Without that capability, the cancer will wither. Telomere length is a part of the mechanism limiting cell replication; cells lose a little of that length with each cell division, and short telomeres force senescence or self-destruction via programmed cell death. In normal tissues only stem cells use telomerase in order to maintain lengthy telomeres. Cancer cells abuse telomerase and the normally silent alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) mechanisms in order to bypass the usual restrictions on cell replication. Given this, we should all be most interested in any signs of a way to safely suppress telomerase, as in the research reported here. The ends of chromosomes are covered with a kind of safety caps - telomeres. These are compact DNA sequences that stabilize chromatin structure. With each cell division telomeres become shorter, and the older a cell, the shorter are the telomeres of its chromosomes. However, certain types of cells (e.g. germ cells, stem cells, and lymphocytes) have an active immortality enzyme called telomerase. It compensates for the shortening of telomeres and allows the cells to divide practically endlessly. The highest telomerase activity is observed in cancer c...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs