Telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomeres and endows eukaryotic cells with immortality, was first discovered in tetrahymena in 1985. In 1990s, it was proven that this enzyme also plays a key role in the infinite proliferation of human cancer cells. Now telomere and telomerase are widely accepted as important factors involved in cancer biology, and as promising diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets. Recently, role of telomerase in “cancer stem cells” has become another attractive story. Until now, there are several good books on telomere and telomerase focusing on biology in ciliates, yeasts, and mouse or basic sciences in human, providing basic scientists or students with updated knowledge.
Telomeres are essential functional elements of eukaryotic chromosomes. Their fundamental biological role as protectors of chromosome stability was identified for the first time in the 1930s by Hermann Muller and Barbara McClintock based on pioneering cytological experiments. Modern molecular research carried out more recently revealed that telomeres and telomerase play important roles in processes such as carcinogenesis and cellular senescence. This special issue presents the most recent developments in this highly active field of research. It is becoming increasingly clear that molecular pathways involved in regulation of telomere length and structure are functionally linked with pathways involved in DNA damage response, cellular stress response, chromatin organization and perhaps even pathways that regulate evolutionary chromosome rearrangements. The above functional link is explored by the leading experts in the field of telomere biology. Cell biologists, molecular biologists, oncologists, gerontologists, and radiobiologists with an interest in the role of telomeres/telomerase will appreciate the up-to-date information in this publication.
This volume presents a compendium of the most recent and advanced methods applied to the rapidly expanding field of telomerase inhibition. The techniques described provide the researcher with a diverse and comprehensive set of tools for the study of telomerase inhibition. The volume is aimed at biochemists, molecular biologists, cancer researchers, and geneticists.
The New York Times bestselling book coauthored by the Nobel Prize winner who discovered telomerase and telomeres' role in the aging process and the health psychologist who has done original research into how specific lifestyle and psychological habits can protect telomeres, slowing disease and improving life. Have you wondered why some sixty-year-olds look and feel like forty-year-olds and why some forty-year-olds look and feel like sixty-year-olds? While many factors contribute to aging and illness, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn discovered a biological indicator called telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes telomeres, which protect our genetic heritage. Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Elissa Epel's research shows that the length and health of one's telomeres are a biological underpinning of the long-hypothesized mind-body connection. They and other scientists have found that changes we can make to our daily habits can protect our telomeres and increase our health spans (the number of years we remain healthy, active, and disease-free). The Telemere Effect reveals how Blackburn and Epel's findings, together with research from colleagues around the world, cumulatively show that sleep quality, exercise, aspects of diet, and even certain chemicals profoundly affect our telomeres, and that chronic stress, negative thoughts, strained relationships, and even the wrong neighborhoods can eat away at them. Drawing from this scientific body of knowledge, they share lists of foods and suggest amounts and types of exercise that are healthy for our telomeres, mind tricks you can use to protect yourself from stress, and information about how to protect your children against developing shorter telomeres, from pregnancy through adolescence. And they describe how we can improve our health spans at the community level, with neighborhoods characterized by trust, green spaces, and safe streets. The Telemere Effect will make you reassess how you live your life on a day-to-day basis. It is the first book to explain how we age at a cellular level and how we can make simple changes to keep our chromosomes and cells healthy, allowing us to stay disease-free longer and live more vital and meaningful lives.
An up-to-date survey of the current exciting state of telomere biology. Telomeres – specialized structures found at the ends of chromosomes – are essential for maintaining the integrity of chromosomes and their faithful duplication during cell division. Chapters in this volume cover telomere structure and function in a range of organisms, focusing on how they are maintained, their roles in cell division and gene expression, and how deficiencies in these structures contribute to cancers and other diseases and even aging.
The book addresses controversies related to the origins of cancer and provides solutions to cancer management and prevention. It expands upon Otto Warburg's well-known theory that all cancer is a disease of energy metabolism. However, Warburg did not link his theory to the "hallmarks of cancer" and thus his theory was discredited. This book aims to provide evidence, through case studies, that cancer is primarily a metabolic disease requring metabolic solutions for its management and prevention. Support for this position is derived from critical assessment of current cancer theories. Brain cancer case studies are presented as a proof of principle for metabolic solutions to disease management, but similarities are drawn to other types of cancer, including breast and colon, due to the same cellular mutations that they demonstrate.
Cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer among women worldwide, and infection with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) has been identified as the causal agent for this condition. The natural history of cervical cancer is characterized by slow disease progression, rendering the condition, in essence, preventable and even treatable when diagnosed in early stages. Pap smear and the recently introduced prophylactic vaccines are the most prominent prevention options, but despite the availability of these primary and secondary screening tools, the global burden of disease is unfortunately still very high. This book will focus on the clinical aspects of HPV and related disease, highlighting the latest developments in this field.
The maintenance of telomeres—repetitive sequences at the end of chromosome—is essential to health. Dysfunction in telomere maintenance pathways plays a role in aging, cancer, atherosclerosis and other diseases. This has led to telomere maintenance as a prime target for patient therapies. This book describes the advances in telomere research as it applies to human health and especially how lifestyle and dietary factors could modify the telomerase maintenance process. The book examines the mechanisms involved, the primary of which are oxidative stress and the role of sirtuins, and how they can be modified by dietary patterns such as Mediterranean diet.
The story of molecular biologist Elizabeth Blackburn and her groundbreaking research on telomeres and what it reveals about the resourceful opportunism that characterizes the best scientific thinking. Molecular biologist Elizabeth Blackburn—one of Time magazine's 100 “Most Influential People in the World” in 2007—made headlines in 2004 when she was dismissed from the President's Council on Bioethics after objecting to the council's call for a moratorium on stem cell research and protesting the suppression of relevant scientific evidence in its final report. But it is Blackburn's groundbreaking work on telomeric DNA, which launched the field of telomere research, that will have the more profound and long-lasting effect on science and society. In this compelling biography, Catherine Brady tells the story of Elizabeth Blackburn's life and work and the emergence of a new field of scientific research on the specialized ends of chromosomes and the enzyme, telomerase, that extends them. In the early stages of telomere research, telomerase, heralded as a potential cure for cancer and diseases related to aging, attracted the voracious interest of biotech companies. The surrounding hype succeeded in confusing the role of telemorase in extending the life of a cell with a mechanism that might extend the lifespan of an entire organism. In Brady's hands, Blackburn's story reveals much about the tension between pure and applied science, the politicking that makes research science such a competitive field, and the resourceful opportunism that characterizes the best scientific thinking. Brady describes the science accessibly and compellingly. She explores Blackburn's struggle to break down barriers in an elite, male-dominated profession, her role as a mentor to other women scientists (many of whom have made their mark in telomere research), and the collaborative nature of scientific work. This book gives us a vivid portrait of an exceptional woman and a new understanding of the combination of curiosity, imaginative speculation, and aesthetic delight that powers scientific discovery.
