Telomeres, telomerase, and cancer: life on the edge of genomic stability

The presence of telomerase activity in most human tumors, but not in many n ormal somatic tissues, has raised considerable interest in telomerase as a possible anticancer therapy, Recent advances in the cloning and characteriz ation of mammalian telomerase components have paved the way for a more deta iled understanding of the role of telomerase and telomere length maintenanc e in cell proliferation. Here, we summarize the most recent biochemical and genetic evidence suggesting that telomere length maintenance by telomerase is critical to the proliferative ability of some immortalized mammalian ce lls in culture and in vivo. (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.