Telomeres and telomerase. A survey about methods and recent advances in cancer diagnostic and therapy
J.M. Weise and Ç. Günes
Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, at the University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Offprint requests to: Dr. Çagatay Günes, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology at the University of Hamburg, Martinistrasse 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany. e-mail: Cagatay.Guenes@hpi.uni-hamburg.de
Summary. Since the discovery that telomerase is repressed in most normal human somatic cells but strongly expressed in most human tumours, telomerase emerged as an attractive target for diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic purposes to combat human cancer. In this review, a synopsis of methods detecting telomerase is presented evaluating their potential for diagnostic and prognostic use. Also, the most promising telomerase therapeutics are discussed in the light of recent advances in the field. Histol Histopathol 21, 1249-1261 (2006)
Key words: Telomeres, Telomerase, Tumorigenesis, Telomerase inhibitors
DOI: 10.14670/HH-21.1249