Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound   Target Concepts: Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound

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Query: EC:2.7.7.48 (transcriptase)
9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein (RNP) DNA polymerase involved in telomere synthesis. A short sequence within the telomerase RNA component provides a template for de novo addition of the G-rich strand of a telomeric simple sequence repeat onto chromosome termini. In vitro, telomerase can elongate single-stranded DNA primers processively: one primer can be extended by multiple rounds of template copying before product dissociation. Telomerase will incorporate dNTPs or ddNTPs and will elongate any G-rich, single-stranded primer DNA. In this report, we show that Tetrahymena telomerase was able to incorporate a ribonucleotide, rGTP, into product polynucleotide. Synthesis of the product [d(TT)r(GGGG)]n was processive, suggesting that the chimeric product remained associated with the enzyme both at the active site and at a second, previously characterized, template-independent product binding site. As predicted by this finding, RNA-containing oligonucleotides served as primers for elongation. More than 3 nt of RNA at a primer 3' end decreased the quantity of product synthesis but increased the affinity of the primer for telomerase. Thus, RNA-containing primers were effective as competitive inhibitors of DNA primer elongation by telomerase. These results support the possible evolutionary origin of telomerase as an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.
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PMID:Utilization of ribonucleotides and RNA primers by Tetrahymena telomerase. 748 31

The EWS gene is fused in Ewing sarcoma-like tumors by a chromosomal translocation to one of the four ETS-family genes: FLI1, ERG, ETV1, and E1AF. The orientation of EWS and FLI1 on chromosomes 22 and 11, respectively, is 5' centromeric and 3' telomeric, whereas that of ERG on chromosome 21 is the reverse. Although 10% of Ewing-family tumors express the EWS-ERG fusion transcript, there have been no reports on tumors with t(21;22)(q22;q12) identified by banding cytogenetics. We found the karyotype 50, XY, +8, +8, +12, +mar in all metaphase cells from a tumor. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis performed on the tumor and direct sequencing of the products identified the EWS-ERG fusion transcript. Subsequent two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis with EWS and ERG clones showed the fused signals on the der(21) chromosome, but no ERG signals on the chromosome 22 homologs. Thus, our RT-PCR and FISH analyses indicated that the chromosome 22 fragment containing the 5' portion of EWS had been inverted and inserted into chromosome 21 and had fused to the 3' portion of ERG. This subtle chromosome aberration could not be identified by routine cytogenetics. A chromosomal inversion/insertion has also been described in acute leukemia with the MLL-AF10 fusion gene, and this may be a common pathway for producing fusion of reverse-oriented genes in leukemias and solid tumors.
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PMID:EWS-ERG fusion transcript produced by chromosomal insertion in a Ewing sarcoma. 907 76

Telomerase, a specialized cellular reverse transcriptase, compensates for chromosome shortening during the proliferation of most eucaryotic cells and contributes to cellular immortalization. The mechanism used by the single-celled protozoan malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to complete the replication of its linear chromosomes is currently unknown. In this study, telomerase activity has for the first time been identified in cell extracts of P. falciparum. The de novo synthesis of highly variable telomere repeats to the 3' end of DNA oligonucleotide primers by plasmodial telomerase is demonstrated. Permutated telomeric DNA primers are extended by the addition of the next correct base. In addition to elongating preexisting telomere sequences, P. falciparum telomerase can also add telomere repeats onto nontelomeric 3' ends. The sequence GGGTT was the predominant initial DNA sequence added to the nontelomeric 3' ends in vitro. Poly(C) at the 3' end of the oligonucleotide significantly alters the precision of the new telomerase added repeats. The efficiency of nontelomeric primer elongation was dependent on the presence of a G-rich cassette upstream of the 3' terminus. Oligonucleotide primers based on natural P. falciparum chromosome breakpoints are efficiently used as telomerase substrates. These results imply that P. falciparum telomerase contributes to chromosome maintenance and to de novo telomere formation on broken chromosomes. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors such as dideoxy GTP efficiently inhibit P. falciparum telomerase activity in vitro. These data point to malaria telomerase as a new target for the development of drugs that could induce parasite cell senescence.
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PMID:Plasmodium falciparum telomerase: de novo telomere addition to telomeric and nontelomeric sequences and role in chromosome healing. 944 88

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein complex with reverse-transcriptase activity responsible for telomere reconstitution. High telomerase activity was found in cancer cells, but not in differentiated homologous nonmalignant tissues. We demonstrated previously that the disappearance of telomerase activity is a reliable marker of tumor cell killing in human cancer cell lines. We have investigated the possibility of evaluating chemosensitivity of neoplastic cells of different origin [ovary, lung, breast, gastrointestinal, skin (melanoma)] obtained from cancer patients, by measuring residual telomerase activity after drug treatment in vitro. Using the classical telomeric repeat amplification protocol ("TRAP") assay based on polymerase chain reaction, we examined telomerase activity of untreated or drug-treated tumor cell suspensions, derived from the processing of surgical specimens. Feasibility and reproducibility of the assay were evaluated according to various parameters, including drug concentration, time of in vitro culture, and type of tumor. The results indicated that the assay is highly sensitive and reproducible, and can be performed using surgical specimens in a reasonable percentage of cases, ranging from 40% (breast cancer) to 100% (ovarian cancer). Moreover, the assay provides comparable results using a wide range of tumor cells, and the presence of normal cells does not interfere with the results. Prolonged tumor cell culture is not required because the assay can be completed within 24 to 72 hours after sample collection. In conclusion, the present investigation provides the technical bases for future studies to evaluate whether this assay would be able to predict patient's response to antitumor agents.
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PMID:Suppression of telomerase activity as an indicator of drug-induced cytotoxicity against cancer cells: in vitro studies with fresh human tumor samples. 1046 37

The ends of linear chromosomes are capped by specialized nucleoprotein structures termed telomeres. Telomeres comprise tracts of noncoding hexanucleotide repeat sequences that, in combination with specific proteins, protect against degradation, rearrangement, and chromosomal fusion events. Due to the polarity of conventional DNA synthesis, a net loss of telomeric sequences occurs at each cell division. It has been proposed that this cumulative telomeric erosion is a limiting factor in replicative capacity and elicits a signal for the onset of cellular senescence. To proliferate beyond the senescent checkpoint, cells must restore telomere length. This can be achieved by telomerase, an enzyme with reverse-transcriptase activity. This enzyme is absent in differentiated somatic tissues, but telomerase reactivation has been detected in most tumors. Much investigative effort is focusing on telomere dynamics with a view to possible manipulation of cellular proliferative potential. In this article, we review the role of telomeres and telomerase in senescence and tumor progression, and we discuss the potential use of telomerase in diagnosis and treatment.
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PMID:Role of telomerase in cell senescence and oncogenesis. 1077 53

Telomeres, the physical ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, are important to stabilize the chromosome and have a unique simple repetitive DNA sequence, TTAGGG in humans. In most normal somatic cells, telomere length becomes 50-100 bp shorter with every cell division, and the cells finally go into senescence, while most cancer cells have been reported to maintain the length and thus are immortalized. Telomeres are replicated by a special transcriptase, called telomerase, which is composed of a template RNA (hTR) and at least two component proteins: hTERT (hEST 2/hTRT) and hTEP 1 (hTLP 1/hTP1). In the present paper, I examined the status of telomerase activities in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs), precancerous lesions, and also cell lines established from OSCCs, by using a non-radioactive PCR-based TRAP (telomeric repeat amplification protocol) assay. Telomerase activities were detected in 23 of 30 OSCCs, 8 of 17 leukoplakias, 0 of 5 normal tissues, and in 8 of 8 OSCC cell lines and 0 of 5 normal human keratinocyte cultures. These results indicated that telomerase activity might have some association with carcinogenesis and might be used as a tumor marker in OSCC.
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PMID:[Telomerase activity in oral squamous cell carcinoma and leukoplakia]. 1132 1

Benign mesenchymal neoplasms associated with rearrangements of the DNA architectural factor gene HMGIC on chromosome 12 include lipomas, uterine leiomyomata, pulmonary chondroid hamartomas, endometrial polyps, salivary gland pleomorphic adenomas, and breast fibroadenomas. Although HMGIC also has been implicated in the pathobiology of aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva, the molecular mechanisms pertaining to this neoplasm are unclear. Tissue from a recurrent aggressive angiomyxoma was investigated by cytogenetic and expression analysis for HMGIC and HMGIY. The trypsin-Giemsa-banded karyotype showed a clonal translocation between chromosomes 8 and 12 [46,XX,t(8;12)(p12;q15)]. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis with whole chromosome paint probes for chromosomes 8 and 12 excluded cryptic involvement of other chromosomes. The chromosome 12 breakpoint was mapped with two-color FISH analysis using cosmid probes at the 5' and 3' termini of HMGIC. Both cosmid probes showed hybridization to the normal chromosome 12 and the der(12) chromosome, indicating that the breakpoint was 3' (telomeric) to the gene. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis revealed HMGIC expression in the tumor, and immunohistochemistry localized HMGIC expression to the tumor's spindle cells. Like numerous benign mesenchymal tumors, this locally aggressive tumor is associated with rearrangements near or within HMGIC, but chimeric gene formation was not required for tumorigenesis. Inappropriate expression of this DNA binding protein, however, may be important in the pathobiology of this tumor. Understanding the pathogenetic mechanism may also be helpful in developing new diagnostic tools for identifying residual disease.
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PMID:Chromosomal translocation t(8;12) induces aberrant HMGIC expression in aggressive angiomyxoma of the vulva. 1155 Feb 85

We describe the establishment and characterization of a new multiple myeloma (MM) cell line, KYdelta-1, which expressed delta/kappa type immunoglobulin (Ig). The patient was a 65-year-old woman with MM, who presented extramedullary dissemination, lymphadenopathy and short survival. The KYdelta-1 cell line was derived from the pleural fluid obtained in the terminal phase of the disease. The cells expressed delta/kappa Ig in the cytoplasm, and CD10, CD29, CD33, CD38, CD44, CD54, and HLA-DR antigens on the cell surface. Chromosomal analysis revealed two independent translocations, t(3;14)(p21;q32) and t(3;11)(p21;q13), which were confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization using chromosome painting probes. Reverse transcriptase-mediated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Northern blot analyses demonstrated overexpression of the CCND1 gene, suggesting alteration of the BCL1-CCND1 locus. We thus performed long-distance inverse PCR using nested primers for the Calpha constant region of immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IGH) and obtained a clone that encompassed the 11q13/IGH fusion. Nucleotide sequencing determined that the fusion occurred at the Salpha2 switch region and at the centromeric side of the major translocation cluster of BCL1. The other IGH allele consisted of a VDJ complex that was adjacent to the Cdelta constant gene, indicating that a class switch-like mechanism from the C(mu) to Cdelta was involved in the production of the Ig delta heavy chain. Point mutations within the P53 and N-RAS genes were presumably related to the rapidly progressive disease in this particular MM patient.
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PMID:Establishment and characterization of a new human myeloma cell line, KYdelta-1, producing the delta/kappa type immunoglobulin. 1167 73

The ends of the chromosomes are capped by specialized structures, the telomeres. These are comprised of tracts of hexanucleotid sequences and, in combination with specific proteins, protect the chromosome against degradation, fusion events and as being recognized as 'damaged' DNA; thus, they guarantee chromosomal integrity. Due to deficiencies during DNA replication, the telomeres continuously loose part of their sequences and it has been proposed that this loss is the liming factor for the replicative capacity of a cell, i.e. telomeric loss is the counting mechanism - the internal clock of ageing. In order to proliferate indefinitely, the cells must prevent telomere erosion and this is mostly achieved by upregulation or de novo expression of the ribonucleoprotein complex telomerase. This enzyme, which has a reverse-transcriptase activity, is able to add telomeric sequences to the outer most ends off the telomeres and thereby stabilize or even elongate the telomeres. As telomerase is expressed in about 90% of all tumours while expression is absent in many somatic tissues, it is not surprising that the causal role of telomere erosion is presently the most favoured hypothesis of cellular ageing.
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PMID:Ageing mechanisms: the role of telomere loss. 1169 58

Actively dividing cells show progressive loss of telomeric DNA during successive rounds of replication due to end-replication problem. Telomere shortening has been proposed as a regulatory mechanism that controls the replicative capacity of primary cells before undergoing cellular senescence. In immortal cells including cancer, cellular senescence can be overcome by reactivation of telomerase or by a telomerase-independent mechanism for lengthening telomeres. In this work, we present a novel example of telomere elongation mechanism in a human stomach adenocarcinoma cell line which was selected for resistance to adriamycin. The resistant cell line (MKN/ADR) had long terminal restriction fragments (TRFs) of up to approximately 50 kb, while its parent cell line (MKN-45) had the TRFs, consisting of a smear extending from approximately 4 to approximately 25 kb. The very large TRFs in MKN/ADR cell line were proven to be telomeric by digestion with the exonuclease Bal31. When telomerase activity was examined using the PCR-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay, MKN/ADR cell line showed reduced activity to about 10% of that in MKN-45 cell line. The correlation between reduced telomerase activity and mRNA expression of telomerase subunits in MKN/ADR cell line was assessed by the reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis. The level of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA was lower in MKN/ADR cell line than in MKN-45 cell line. This observation correlates with the finding that telomerase activity is reduced about 10-fold in MKN/ADR cell line. Reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis also revealed a close correlation between telomerase-associated protein (TP1) mRNA expression and telomerase activity in MKN/ADR cell line. In contrast, expression levels of human telomerase RNA (hTR) were identical in both MKN/ADR and MKN-45 cell lines. Taken together, these data suggest that telomeres in MKN/ADR cell line may be regulated through a novel mechanism other than telomerase. Although the basis for telomere elongation mechanism in MKN/ADR cell line is not yet understood, the occurrence of alternative mechanism for telomere elongation in drug-resistant cancer cells may have an important implication for use of telomerase inhibitors in human cancer treatment.
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PMID:A novel telomere elongation in an adriamycin-resistant stomach cancer cell line with decreased telomerase activity. 1201 44


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