摘要
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether telomerase activity, human telomerase RNA (HTR) and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (HTERT) expression were associated with tumor development in lung cancer and whether telomerase is regulated at gene level or transcriptional level. METHODS: Expression of HTR and HTERT was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 68 human lung cancer and in 68 adjacent-neoplatic lung tissues. And telomerase activity was examined by a quantitative telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP). RESULTS: In 68 lung cancer tissues, telomerase activity, HTR and HTERT were expressed in 79%, 98.5% and 91.2% respectively, whereas all adjacent non-neoplastic lung tissues were telomerase negative. Most normal lung tissues expressed HTR (91.2%) and HTERT was detected in only 7 of 68 non-neoplastic tissues. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively high frequency of telomerase activity in lung cancer whereas the detection of no telomerase activity in normal lung tissues suggested that telomerase may play an important role in tumorigenesis of lung cancer. Compared to HTR, HTERT expression was better associated with telomerase activity with a concordance of 88.9%. Telomerase activity may be regulated at transcription level or translation level.
目的 探讨hTR、hTERT与端粒酶活性的表达是否与肺癌的发生发展有关 ,深入了解端粒酶基因对端粒酶活性的调控是在基因水平还是在转录水平。方法 采用TRAP PCR和RT PCR方法分别检测 6 8例肺癌组织、6 8例癌旁组织端粒酶活性、端粒酶基因hTR和hTERT的表达。结果 6 8例肺癌组织中端粒酶阳性率为 79%,HTR阳性率为 98 5 %,HTERT阳性率为 91 2 %。 6 8例癌旁组织中 ,无一例表达端粒酶阳性 ,且大多数癌旁组织均表达HTR(91 2 %) ,而HTERT在 6 8例癌旁组织中仅 7例为阳性。结论 肺癌组织中表达高频率的端粒酶活性而癌旁组织无一例表达端粒酶阳性说明了端粒酶的活性是肺癌发生发展所必须的。与HTR相比 ,HTERT同端粒酶具有更高的一致性 ,其一致率为 88 9%。HTR与HTERT可能是在转录后或翻译后水平对端粒酶进行调控的。
基金
theNationalNaturalSciencesFoundationofChina (No 395 70 392 )
