Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have identified two new proteins that make up the telomerase complex and have a lead on several more. This is the first significant step toward understanding the makeup of telomerase since 1999. The discovery of these two proteins provides new targets for cancer treatments, the researchers said.

 “It’s so surprising that we are discovering new components of this enzyme almost 10 years after it was discovered,” said Steven Artandi, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and senior author of the study. The work is published in the March 21 issue of Cell.

Telomerase is best known for its role in maintaining the cell’s genetic material, the chromosomes. Every time a person’s cell divides, it makes a second copy of the 46 chromosomes, then sends one copy to each of the two resulting cells. As that copying process proceeds, each replication snips a bit off the protective tips of the chromosomes, called telomeres. Those ever-shortening chromosomes are one reason cells age. After a lifetime of cells dividing, the telomeres dwindle down to a length that eventually triggers the cell to stop replicating altogether or die.

Release date: March 20, 2008
Source: Stanford School of Medicine