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Thursday, September 1, 2011


Researchers report new understanding of role of telomeres in tumor growth

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have reported the first observation of the presence of “alternative lengthening of telomeres” (ALT) in cancers arising from the bladder, cervix, endometrium, esophagus, gallbladder, liver, and lung.

The presence of ALT in carcinomas can be used as a diagnostic marker and has implications for the development of anti-cancer drug therapies.

Telomeres are nucleoprotein complexes located at the ends of chromosomes. During normal cell division, these telomeres become shorter with each division, potentially resulting in cell death. In some cancers, however, this shortening is counteracted by the ALT mechanism, allowing for unlimited growth of the cancer cells.

“These results may have therapeutic consequences, given that cancers using the ALT pathway are predicted to be resistant to anti-telomerase therapies, some of which have entered phase I/II clinical trials,” observed corresponding author Alan K. Meeker, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology at Johns Hopkins.

Read more: http://goo.gl/18iBO


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