To develop agents that will block telomerase in the human body, investigators must also have a sharper picture of exactly how the enzyme functions. How does it attach to DNA? How does it "decide" on the number of telomeric subunits to add? DNA in the nucleus is studded with all manner of proteins, including some that specifically bind to the telomere. What part do telomerebinding proteins play in controlling the activity of telomerase? Would altering their activity disrupt telomere elongation? Within the next 10 years we expect to learn a great deal about the interactions among the various molecules that influence telomere length.
Research into the regulation of telomere size could also yield benefits beyond new therapies for cancer. A popular approach to gene therapy for various diseases involves extracting cells from a patient, inserting the desired gene and then returning the genetically corrected cells to the patient. Frequently, though, the extracted cells proliferate poorly in the laboratory. Perhaps insertion of telomerase alone or in combination with other factors would temporarily enhance replication capacity, so that larger numbers of therapeutic cells could be delivered to the patient.
Modern research into telomeres has come a long way from the initial identification of repetitive DNA on the ends of chromosomes in a unicellular pond dweller. Elongation of telomeres by telomerase, initially considered to be merely a "cute" mechanism by which some single-cell creatures maintain their chromosomes, has proved, as ever, to be other than it seemed. Telomerase is, in fact, the predominant means by which nucleated cells of most animals protect their chromosomal end segments. And, now, study of this once obscure process may lead to innovative strategies for fighting a range of cancers.
In the early 1980s scientists would not have set out to identify potential anticancer therapies by studying chromosome maintenance in Tetrahymena. The research on telomerase reminds us that in studies of nature one can never predict when and where fundamental processes will be uncovered. You never know when a rock you find will turn out to be a gem.
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6 Comments
Add CommentThis is the type of research we are missing in todays world. The pure quest for knowledge instead of profit. They deserved this prize and more.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisKerry,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are being a bit rash or maiybe even uninformed with your statement that "this is type of research we are missing in todays world". There are several research programs at centers, such as the genome labs at Bethesda and in various departments at universities such as Duke where "the quest for knowledge" in the regulation of chromosome replication is on-going. Please note that these nobel lauerates remain in the USA because of our vigorous support of basic research.
Tetrahymena rules again as the queen of free living cells !!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis study surely added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTELOMERASE
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease let me know how I can get my sister into this therapy. She has been suffering from cancer for the last 30 years!! She is valiantly fighting for her life and I pray this my help her. Please let me know. Thank you for your wonderful work.
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