HUMAN LYMPHOCYTE TELOMERASE IS GENETICALLY REGULATED

Research on both cancer and aging has focused attention on the regulat ion of telomerase, the enzyme that synthesizes the ends of chromosomal DNA. To analyze the relative importance of genetic vs. environmental factors in determining telomerase inducibility, we have compared telom erase activity in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood lymph ocytes from monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs. The heritability cal culated was 0.814, indicating that lymphocyte inducible telomerase act ivity is determined principally by genetic rather than by environmenta l factors. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.