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da Mota THA, Camargo R, Biojone ER, Guimarães AFR, Pittella-Silva F, de Oliveira DM. The Relevance of Telomerase and Telomere-Associated Proteins in B-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:genes14030691. [PMID: 36980962 PMCID: PMC10048576 DOI: 10.3390/genes14030691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Telomeres and telomerase are closely linked to uncontrolled cellular proliferation, immortalization and carcinogenesis. Telomerase has been largely studied in the context of cancer, including leukemias. Deregulation of human telomerase gene hTERT is a well-established step in leukemia development. B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) recovery rates exceed 90% in children; however, the relapse rate is around 20% among treated patients, and 10% of these are still incurable. This review highlights the biological and clinical relevance of telomerase for B-ALL and the implications of its canonical and non-canonical action on signaling pathways in the context of disease and treatment. The physiological role of telomerase in lymphocytes makes the study of its biomarker potential a great challenge. Nevertheless, many works have demonstrated that high telomerase activity or hTERT expression, as well as short telomeres, correlate with poor prognosis in B-ALL. Telomerase and related proteins have been proven to be promising pharmacological targets. Likewise, combined therapy with telomerase inhibitors may turn out to be an alternative strategy for B-ALL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tales Henrique Andrade da Mota
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology of Cancer, University of Brasilia, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil
- Laboratory of Molecular Analysis, Faculty of Ceilândia, University of Brasilia, Brasilia 72220-275, Brazil
- Correspondence:
| | - Ricardo Camargo
- Brasília Children’s Hospital José Alencar, Brasilia 70684-831, Brazil
| | | | - Ana Flávia Reis Guimarães
- Laboratory of Molecular Analysis, Faculty of Ceilândia, University of Brasilia, Brasilia 72220-275, Brazil
| | - Fabio Pittella-Silva
- Laboratory of Molecular Pathology of Cancer, University of Brasilia, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil
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