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Telomerase as a therapeutic target for malignant gliomas

Oncogene volume 21, pages 656–663 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme, is considered as a potential target of cancer therapy because of its preferential expression in tumors. In particular, malignant gliomas are one of the best candidates for telomerase-targeted therapy. It is because malignant gliomas are predominantly telomerase-positive, while normal brain tissues do not express telomerase. In theory, there are two telomerase-associated therapeutic approaches for telomerase-positive tumors. One approach is the anti-telomerase cancer therapy to directly inhibit telomerase activity, resulting in apoptotic cell death or growth arrest. Two major components of the telomerase holoenzyme complex, the RNA template (hTER) and catalytic subunit (reverse transcriptase, hTERT) are well considered as therapeutic targets. The other approach is the telomerase-specific cancer therapy by targeting telomerase-expressing tumor cells as a means to directly kill the cells. Strategies using the transfer of therapeutic gene under the hTERT promoter system as well as immunotherapy directed against telomerase-positive cells are generally included. These telomerase-associated therapies are very promising for the treatment of malignant gliomas.

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Acknowledgements

Our research involving the development of 2–5A-anti-hTER and hTERT/caspase family systems is supported in part by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Research Funds No. 5928 and No. 6200 (S Kondo), the John Gagliarducci Fund (S Kondo), and the NIH grants CA80233 and CA88936 (S Kondo).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Center for Surgery Research, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, 44195, Ohio, OH, USA

    Tadashi Komata, Yasuko Kondo & Seiji Kondo

  2. The Department of Neurosurgery, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, 10029, NY, USA

    Tadashi Komata, Takao Kanzawa, Yasuko Kondo & Seiji Kondo

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  1. Tadashi Komata
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Correspondence to Yasuko Kondo.

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Komata, T., Kanzawa, T., Kondo, Y. et al. Telomerase as a therapeutic target for malignant gliomas. Oncogene 21, 656–663 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1205072

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