High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) immortalize keratinocytes by disrupting the retinoblastoma protein (Rb)/p16 pathway and activating telomerase. The E7 oncoprotein targets Rb, while the E6 oncoprotein induces telomerase activity in human keratinocytes. This study has examined the mechanism by which E6 activates telomerase. Expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), the ...

High human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression is related to severe Colorectal Cancer (CRC) progression and negatively CRC patient survival. Previous studies have revealed that hTERT can reduce cancer cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels accelerate progression; however, the mechanism remains poorly understood. NFE2-related factor 2 (NRF2) a molecule plays significant ro...

AIM To investigate the effect of inhibition of telomerase with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) antisense on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells (PC3). METHODS Antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide (AS PS-ODN) was synthesized and purified. Telomerase activity was measured using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol (...

Previous studies have shown that wild-type human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) protein can functionally replace the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) E6 protein, which cooperates with the viral E7 protein in the immortalization of primary keratinocytes. In the current study, we made the surprising finding that catalytically inactive hTERT (hTERT-D868A), elongation-defective hTERT...

Transcriptional activation of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene, which remains repressed in adult somatic cells, is critical during tumorigenesis. Several transcription factors and the epigenetic state of the hTERT promoter are known to be important for tight control of hTERT in normal tissues, but the molecular mechanisms leading to hTERT reactivation in cancer are not we...

We investigated the role of somatic mutations and a common single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the hTERT promoter region on hTERT expression and clinical outcomes. The hTERT promoter region was sequenced from 48 glioblastomas. hTERT expression was analyzed by quantitative real time-PCR. The association between hTERT promoter genetic changes and other genomic events and clinical variables co...

Background & Objective:  Zataria multiflora is a plant that belongs to Laminaceae family. It is traditionally believed to have several therapeutic effects. Acute promyelocytic leukemia is a distinct subtype of acute myeloid leukemia with dominancy of promyelocytes in bone marrow and blood stream. The aim of this study is to investigate the anticancer effects of Z. multiflora extract on acute pr...

In previous studies we demonstrated telomerase activity in frozen tissue from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and their tumor-free tumor margins. In the present study frozen sections from the same tissues were examined for in situ presence of hTERT. In preliminary investigations we established that the most suitable method of tissue preparation was fixation in acetone and methanol...