Telomerase: Difference between revisions
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In the 1930s, Barbara McClintock was the first to point out that the ends of chromosomes are somewhat different. Over forty years later, Olovnikov (1973) and Watson (1972) indicated an 'end replication problem' in which the lagging strand of DNA cannot be fully copied (Blackburn 2010). This concept led to a waterfall of studies and information vitally important to cellular regulation. In 1978, acclaimed chemist and front-runner in telomerase studies, Elizabeth H. Blackburn, discovered the telomere in ''Tetrahymena thermophila''. By 1985, Blackburn and Carol Greider noted the enzymatic activity that created the telomeric sequences, and in 1987, the two women officially identified the telomerase as a ribonucleaoprotein with an essential RNA and and protein component (Corey 2009). Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak won the 2009 Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their lifetime work regarding the telomere and telomerase. | In the 1930s, Barbara McClintock was the first to point out that the ends of chromosomes are somewhat different. Over forty years later, Olovnikov (1973) and Watson (1972) indicated an 'end replication problem' in which the lagging strand of DNA cannot be fully copied (Blackburn 2010). This concept led to a waterfall of studies and information vitally important to cellular regulation. In 1978, acclaimed chemist and front-runner in telomerase studies, Elizabeth H. Blackburn, discovered the telomere in ''Tetrahymena thermophila''. By 1985, Blackburn and Carol Greider noted the enzymatic activity that created the telomeric sequences, and in 1987, the two women officially identified the telomerase as a ribonucleaoprotein with an essential RNA and and protein component (Corey 2009). Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak won the 2009 Noble Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their lifetime work regarding the telomere and telomerase. | ||
Since 1987, the study of the telomerase has exploded. | Since 1987, the study of the telomerase has exploded (see figure below) mainly due to its connections to cancer. A multitude of studies in the mid-1990s indicated that many types of cancer cells show increased telomerase activity. By 2001, "telomerase activity had been observed in greater than 90% of patient samples from a wide range of different cancers" (Corey 2009). As a result, strategies to create telomerase inhibitors have been a focus in cancer research. One strategy that has seen success is creating oligonucleotides complementary to the RNA component that acts as a template for telomere formation. As of 2009, a handful of drugs containing these oligonucleotides were clinically approved as cancer treatment, and many more were in pre-clinical trials. | ||
[[Image:Figure.jpg]] | [[Image:Figure.jpg]] | ||
