Telomeres are specialized structures at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes and are crucial for genome stability, cell growth control and carcinogenesis. Normally, they protect chromosomes from end to end fusion, degradation and recombination. Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein essential for maintenance of telomeres and it is active in germ cells, stem cells and approximately 90% of cancers but not in most normal somatic cells. Human telomerase catalytic protein subunit hTERT is crucial for telomerase activity. Although hTERT expression is sufficient to immortalize normal human cells in culture, spontaneous immortalization is extremely rare which suggests that its expression is under strong negative control. Characterization of the hTERT promoter has allowed for the analysis of potential mechanisms of hTERT expression and regulation. The hTERT promoter is very complex and contains a great number of canonical and non-canonical sequences that bind or potentially bind a variety of transcription factors. In this review we focus on the positive and negative regulators of hTERT transcription and their role in normal cell growth and immortalization.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000167812 | DOI Listing |
STAR Protoc
January 2025
Divison of Molecular and Vascular Biology, IRDA, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860-0811, Japan. Electronic address:
Angiogenesis begins as endothelial cells migrate, forming a sprouting tip and subsequent growth-rich stalk cells. Here, we present a protocol for transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses of tip-like cells in cultured endothelial cells. We describe steps for stimulating human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) to generate tip-like cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biochem Mol Toxicol
January 2025
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, China.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a severe cardiovascular disease (CVD) that is partly attributable to endothelial dysfunction, inflammatory response, and angiogenesis. G protein-coupled receptor 4 (GPR4), a proton-sensitive G protein-coupled receptor that is abundantly expressed in vascular endothelial cells, has been associated with numerous physiological functions. Nevertheless, its potential involvement in the development of AAA remains unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Mol Life Sci
January 2025
Department of Anesthesiology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Yitian Road 7019, Shenzhen, 518000, China.
Hair follicle (HF) development and pigmentation are complex processes governed by various signaling pathways, such as TGF-β and FGF signaling pathways. Nestin + (neural crest like) stem cells are also expressed in HF stem cells, particularly in the bulge and dermal papilla region. However, the specific role and differentiation potential of these Nestin-positive cells within the HF remain unclear, especially regarding their contribution to melanocyte formation and hair pigmentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand)
January 2025
Laboratory of Cellular Toxicology, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Badji Mokhtar University, Annaba, Algeria.
Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand)
January 2025
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
One of the prevailing trends in contemporary agriculture is the application of biological control. Nevertheless, several reports suggest that biocontrol bacteria exhibit poor survival rates in host plants. Consequently, the concept of shielding biological control agents by encapsulating them in outer coatings has gained popularity.
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