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Telomerase Inhibitors
Telomerase inhibitors may change the face of cancer therapy forever and give it a more positive, optimistic light. Telomerase is an enzyme found in most cancer and germline cells and cancerous tumours. Although telomerase is also found in other cells such as stem cells, it has recently been discovered that is one of the most reliable tumour markers for cancer detection because it does not exist in benign tumours. Creating an inhibitor for this telomerase enzyme may be a way to stop cancer growth and keep it from spreading throughout the body.
It’s important to remember that cancer in one organ, if caught in time, does not always spell death. Instead, it is when that cancer spreads to other organs and tissue that it is too late to stop the growth and save the life of the patient. Telomerase inhibitors give new hope that new cancer cells can be prevented from forming; thereby, preventing the spread of the disease.
Telomerase is essential to the life of a cell because it modifies structures called telomeres that form at the end of chromosomes. In healthy cells, such as stem cells, it keeps the telomeres long, which is essential to allow the cells to keep on dividing. This is essential for repairing damaged and worn tissue throughout the body. However, when it comes to cancer, telomerase actually promotes the growth of cells. When the telomerase and the growth of these cells are stopped, cancer growth can be stopped as well.
Stopping the growth of new cancer cells is truly an advance in cancer research and treatment. Currently, chemotherapy and radiation are the standard protocols to treat most forms of cancer. Both of these treatments kill off the bad cells or keep them from growing. That is a good thing. However, this is done using chemicals and toxins that also kill healthy cells. They do nothing to prevent the growth of new cancer cells once the course of treatment has ended.
A telomerase inhibitor, or a treatment that would prevent the telomerase from forming, would not only be safer, but possibly more effective. A telomerase inhibitor would prevent the growth of new cancerous cells. It would not kill healthy cells, and it would not require giving patients toxic chemicals or high doses of radiation just to treat the cancer.
Professors from Monash University have identified two proteins that can stop the production of telomerase in cancer cells: Smad3 and c-Myc. Both of these proteins can turn off the production of telomerase and inhibit cell growth. When the cancer cells are prevented from multiplying and spreading throughout the body, then the cancer can be stopped.
Since these proteins do turn off the production of telomerase and stop cell growth, it is believed by scientists that if anti-cancer agents can be developed that mimic these two proteins, it is very possible that the growth of cancer can be stopped in patients. Most recently, a telomerase inhibitor called GRN163L was developed that successfully mimicked the proteins Smad3 and c-Myc. In studies, GRN163L inhibited the telomerase and stopped the growth and spreading of lung cancer in laboratory mice. This is excellent news for scientists and the public alike.
Scientists and the medical community now have justified hope that with
further research, studies, and the continued development of telomerase
inhibitors, it’s very possible that a way will be found to stop
cancer dead in its tracks. New inhibitors are being developed and studies
are being put together to test these inhibitors on human cancer patients.
In the near future, telomerase inhibitors may replace the use of chemotherapy
and radiation on many cancer patients and become the closest we have ever
come to finding a cure.