Telomeres and Telomerase: The Switch of Tumor Genesis in Vivo

Abstract

A line of evidence shows that telomere extension by telomerase leads to cellular immortalization that is characteristic of cancer cells. Recent findings revealed that oncogenes are activated through the inhibition of tumor suppressors and the activation of hTERT promoter following telomere extension. It is thus critical to prevent the activation of telomerase and telomere extension for the suppression of tumorigenesis. This review summarizes the structure of telomere and the mechanism of telomere extension and discusses the molecular targets for the development of novel cancer therapy.