Methods of Telomerase Inhibition

Telomerase is central to cellular immortality and is a key component of most cancer cells although this enzyme is rarely expressed to significant levels in normal cells. Therefore, the inhibition of telomerase has garnered considerable attention as a possible anticancer approach. Many of the methods applied to telomerase inhibition focus on either of the two major components of the ribonucleoprotein holoenzyme, that is, the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) catalytic subunit or the telomerase RNA (TR) component. Other protocols have been developed to target the proteins, such as tankyrase, that are associated with telomerase at the ends of chromosomes. This chapter summarizes some of these recent advances in telomerase inhibition.