hTERT can function with rabbit telomerase RNA: Regulation of gene expression and attenuation of apoptosis

Telomerase is a specialized DNA polymerase that adds telomeric sequences on to chromosome ends. The functional telomerase complex contains a telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and also a telomerase RNA (TR). Although it i s well established that the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) can function well in different human cell lines, it has not been shown whet her it is compatible with telomerase template RNA from other species. Here we report that the expressed hTERT is functionally compatible with rabbit t elomerase template RNA (rTR) as demonstrated by TRAP assay. The direct inte raction between hTERT and rTR is further confirmed by immunoprecipitation-l inked RT-PCR in which rTR is detected from the complex immunoprecipitated b y an antihTERT antibody. The hTERT expressed in rabbit lens epithelial cell s demonstrates two major functions: modulation of expression of other genes and attenuation of apoptosis. Thus, telomerase has a variety of functions besides telomere synthesis, and the template RNA is functionally conserved between human and rabbit. (C) 2000 Academic Press.