TELOMERASE, AGING, AND CANCER

A review of the present-day data about telomeres and telomerase, their role in aging in vitro, cell immortalization, and tumor progression i s presented. The following items are considered: biological significan ce of telomerase repression in somatic cells: immortalization process; causes and pathways of telomerase reactivation in tumor cells; possib ilities of regulating the telomerase activity; immortalization in the absence of telomerase; role of telomerase in tumor diagnosis; possibil ity of anticancer therapy with telomerase inhibitors; telomere underre pair; relationship of aging in vivo and in vitro.