Geron other research news

The Menlo Park, Calif., company cloned the RNA component of human telomerase and showed that its inhibition led to the death of cancer cells grown in culture. As published in Science, expression within cells of antisense RNA directed against the telomerase RNA led to telomere shortening and cell death.

Telomeres are the repeat sequences that cap chromosomes, preventing genetic errors during cell division. Each time a cell divides, the telomere shortens. Activation of the telomerase enzyme allows cancer cells to proliferate indefinitely by maintaining the length of telomeres. Normal human cells, except for testes, contain little telomerase activity. ...