Anti-cancer Immunotherapies Targeting Telomerase.

ABSTRACT: Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase that maintains telomeres length, compensating for the attrition of chromosomal ends that occurs during each replication cycle. Telomerase is expressed in germ cells and stem cells, whereas it is virtually undetectable in adult somatic cells. On the other hand, telomerase is broadly expressed in the majority of human tumors playing a crucial role in the replicative behavior and immortality of cancer cells. Several studies have demonstrated that telomerase-derived peptides are able to bind to HLA (human leukocyte antigen) class I and class II molecules and effectively activate both CD8+ and CD4+ T cells subsets. Due to its broad and selective expression in cancer cells and its significant immunogenicity, telomerase is considered an ideal universal tumor-

SUBMITTER: Negrini S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7465444 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature