Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 16 January 1998:
Vol. 279. no. 5349, pp. 334 - 335
DOI: 10.1126/science.279.5349.334
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Research Commentaries

CELL BIOLOGY:
Telomeres and Senescence: Ending the Debate

Titia de Lange

DNA, the genetic material, is arranged in chromosomes, linear structures in the nucleus capped with a long series of repeated sequences called telomeres. As de Lange describes in her commentary, in 1986 the telomere theory of senescence was put forward, in which progressive loss of bits of the telomere with each cell division serves as a sort of clock, with the cell reaching the end of its life as it runs out of telomere. The corollary--that tumor cells can maintain their telomeres at a "young" length and so escape death--suggested an attractive site for cancer therapeutics. But the theory had come under fire since its introduction and had fallen out of favor with much of the scientific community. Now in a research article in this issue, the telomeric theory of aging is dramatically resuscitated. Bodnar et al. transfect adult differentiated human cells with a critical subunit of telomerase and rescue them from senescent death.

The author is in the Laboratory for Cell Biology and Genetics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, 10021, USA. E-mail: delange{at}rockvax.rockefeller.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
{alpha}CP1 Mediates Stabilization of hTERT mRNA by Autocrine Human Growth Hormone.
B. S. Emerald, Y. Chen, T. Zhu, Z. Zhu, K.-O. Lee, P. D. Gluckman, and P. E. Lobie (2007)
J. Biol. Chem. 282, 680-690
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Sp1/Sp3-dependent Regulation of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Promoter Activity by the Bioactive Sphingolipid Ceramide.
L. G. Wooten and B. Ogretmen (2005)
J. Biol. Chem. 280, 28867-28876
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Functional Identification of Cancer-relevant Genes through Large-Scale RNA Interference Screens in Mammalian Cells.
T.R. BRUMMELKAMP, K. BERNS, E.M. HIJMANS, J. MULLENDERS, A. FABIUS, M. HEIMERIKX, A. VELDS, R.M. KERKHOVEN, M. MADIREDJO, R. BERNARDS, et al. (2004)
Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 69, 439-446
   Abstract »    PDF »
Reversal of Senescence in Mouse Fibroblasts through Lentiviral Suppression of p53.
A. M. G. Dirac and R. Bernards (2003)
J. Biol. Chem. 278, 11731-11734
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Telomere Length Assessment in Human Archival Tissues : Combined Telomere Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization and Immunostaining.
A. K. Meeker, W. R. Gage, J. L. Hicks, I. Simon, J. R. Coffman, E. A. Platz, G. E. March, and A. M. De Marzo (2002)
Am. J. Pathol. 160, 1259-1268
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Induced Senescence in HeLa Cervical Carcinoma Cells Containing Elevated Telomerase Activity and Extended Telomeres.
E. C. Goodwin and D. DiMaio (2001)
Cell Growth Differ. 12, 525-534
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Retinoids down-regulate telomerase and telomere length in a pathway distinct from leukemia cell differentiation.
F. Pendino, M. Flexor, F. Delhommeau, D. Buet, M. Lanotte, and E. Ségal-Bendirdjian (2001)
PNAS
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Mammalian Meiotic Telomeres: Protein Composition and Redistribution in Relation to Nuclear Pores.
H. Scherthan, M. Jerratsch, B. Li, S. Smith, M. Hultén, T. Lock, and T. de Lange (2000)
Mol. Biol. Cell 11, 4189-4203
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Meiotic Telomere Protein Ndj1p Is Required for Meiosis-Specific Telomere Distribution, Bouquet Formation and Efficient Homologue Pairing.
E. Trelles-Sticken, M. E. Dresser, and H. Scherthan (2000)
J. Cell Biol. 151, 95-106
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Adenovirus-mediated Overexpression of p15INK4B Inhibits Human Glioma Cell Growth, Induces Replicative Senescence, and Inhibits Telomerase Activity Similarly to p16INK4A.
J. Fuxe, G. Akusjärvi, H. M. Goike, G. Roos, V. P. Collins, and R. F. Pettersson (2000)
Cell Growth Differ. 11, 373-384
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Altered Telomere Nuclear Matrix Interactions and Nucleosomal Periodicity in Ataxia Telangiectasia Cells before and after Ionizing Radiation Treatment.
L. B. Smilenov, S. Dhar, and T. K. Pandita (1999)
Mol. Cell. Biol. 19, 6963-6971
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Position effect of human telomeric repeats on replication timing.
R. Ofir, A. C. C. Wong, H. E. McDermid, K. L. Skorecki, and S. Selig (1999)
PNAS 96, 11434-11439
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Interactions of TLC1 (Which Encodes the RNA Subunit of Telomerase), TEL1, and MEC1 in Regulating Telomere Length in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
K. B. Ritchie, J. C. Mallory, and T. D. Petes (1999)
Mol. Cell. Biol. 19, 6065-6075
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Alternative splicing of the telomerase catalytic subunit in human oocytes and embryos.
C. A. Brenner, Y. M. Wolny, R. R. Adler, and J. Cohen (1999)
Mol. Hum. Reprod. 5, 845-850
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
5,6-trans-16-ene-Vitamin D3: A New Class of Potent Inhibitors of Proliferation of Prostate, Breast, and Myeloid Leukemic Cells.
J.-i. Hisatake, T. Kubota, Y. Hisatake, M. Uskokovic, S. Tomoyasu, and H. P. Koeffler (1999)
Cancer Res. 59, 4023-4029
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Constitutive and regulated expression of telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) in human lymphocytes.
K. Liu, M. M. Schoonmaker, B. L. Levine, C. H. June, R. J. Hodes, and N.-p. Weng (1999)
PNAS 96, 5147-5152
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
p53- and ATM-Dependent Apoptosis Induced by Telomeres Lacking TRF2.
J. Karlseder, D. Broccoli, Y. Dai, S. Hardy, and T. de Lange (1999)
Science 283, 1321-1325
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Telomerase activity in human pleural mesothelioma.
K. Dhaene, R. Hübner, S. Kumar-Singh, B. Weyn, and E. Van Marck (1998)
Thorax 53, 915-918
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Molecular Mechanisms of Ceramide-mediated Telomerase Inhibition in the A549 Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cell Line.
B. Ogretmen, J. M. Kraveka, D. Schady, J. Usta, Y. A. Hannun, and L. M. Obeid (2001)
J. Biol. Chem. 276, 32506-32514
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Retinoids down-regulate telomerase and telomere length in a pathway distinct from leukemia cell differentiation.
F. Pendino, M. Flexor, F. Delhommeau, D. Buet, M. Lanotte, and E. Segal-Bendirdjian (2001)
PNAS 98, 6662-6667
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)