tailieunhanh - Báo cáo khoa học: Assessment of telomere length and factors that contribute to its stability

Short strands of tandem hexameric repeats known as telomeres cap the ends of linear repeats protect chromosomes from degradation and prevent chro-mosomal end-joining, a phenomenon that could occur due to the aremaintainedby the activity of the enzyme total number of telomeric repeats at the terminal end of a chromosome determines the telomere length, which in addition to its importance in chromosomal stabilization is a useful indica-tor of telomerase activity in normal and malignant tissues | Eur. J. Biochem. 270 389-403 2003 FEBS 2003 doi REVIEW ARTICLE Assessment of telomere length and factors that contribute to its stability Sabita N. Saldanha1 Lucy G. Andrews1 and Trygve O. Tollefsbol1 2 3 1 Department of Biology 2Center for Aging and 3 Comprehensive Cancer Center University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alabama at Birmingham AL USA Short strands of tandem hexameric repeats known as telomeres cap the ends of linear chromosomes. These repeats protect chromosomes from degradation and prevent chromosomal end-joining a phenomenon that could occur due to the end-replication problem. Telomeres are maintained by the activity of the enzyme telomerase. The oital number of telomeric repeats at the terminal end of a chromosome determines the telomere length which in addition to its importance in chromosomal stabilization is a useful indicator of telomerase activity in normal and malignant tissues. Telomere length stability is one of the important factors that contribute to the proliferative capacity of many cancer cell types therefore the detection and estimation of telomere length is extremely important. Until relatively recniltly. telomere lengths were analyzed primarily using the standard Southern blot technique. However the complexiiies ft this technique have led to the search for more simple and rapid detection methods. i mi itH such as the ue flfl lluor-escent probes and the ability to sort cells have greatly enhanced the ease and sensitivity of telomere length measurements. Reennt aVannees ndd hhe limitations o i dteee techniques are evaluated. Drugs that assist in telomere shortening may contribute to tumor regression. THerefore. racoons haat onntribute oo telomere stability may influence the efficiency of the drugs that have potential in cancer therapy. Theee lactoss m ehation to telomere length are also examined in this analysis. Keywords telomerase telomeres telomere length inhibitors detection methods. .