Ablation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) induces cellular senescence in gastric cancer through a galectin-3 dependent mechanism.

ABSTRACT: The human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (hTERT) gene encodes a rate-limiting catalytic subunit of telomerase that maintains genomic integrity. Suppression of hTERT expression could induce cellular senescence and is considered a potent approach for gastric cancer therapy. However, control of hTERT expression and function remains poorly understood in gastric cancer. In this study, we demonstrated that high expression levels of hTERT in malignant tissues are correlated with poor survival probability in gastric cancer patients. Knockdown of hTERT expression retarded cell proliferation and cellular senescence, which was confirmed by increased protein expression levels of p21cip1 and p27kip1, and decreased phosphorylation of Rb. In contrast, overexpression of hTERT increased cell proliferatio

SUBMITTER: La SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5302977 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature