Limitless Proliferative Capacity

The fourth hallmark of cancer cells is the ability to escape normal regulatory mechanisms that control how many times a cell can divide. This uncontrolled proliferative capacity essentially produces the same result as avoiding anti-growth signals or generating positive growth signals. The limits to cell division are set in large part by the ends of chromosomes called telomeres. In normal somatic (body) cells, each round of cell division shrinks telomeres and cell division stops when these telomeres become too short. Cancer cells, in contrast, can lengthen their telomeres, which allows them to divide an indefinite number of times.

Quantitation of TERT and TR Gene Expresssion by Odyssey^® Infrared Imaging System

In a study conducted by Vidal-Cardenas and Greider (2010) at Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, the Odyssey^® Imaging System was used to quantify expression of the reverse transcriptase component TERT, which is the catalytic protein subunit that carries out telomere repeat additions. TR is the essential telomerase RNA component needed for both enzymatic activity and to provide the template for the telomeric repeats that are synthesized. Camptothecin, a cytotoxic quinoline alkaloid, induces a similar DNA damage response.

Reprinted with permission from NARESE- Nucleic Acids Research, 38(1); 60-71, 2010 (Figure 2)