端粒酶的研究进展

Advances of the Research on the Telomerase

端粒酶是由RNA模板和蛋白质催化亚基组成的核糖蛋白颗粒。它解决染色体的未端复制问题 ,归属于逆转录酶家族又和逆转录酶有一定的差别。端粒酶的缺失能在细胞和机体水平引起各种疾病的发生 ,且端粒的过度表达和细胞的永生化和癌变直接相关 ,其中端粒蛋白在此过程中可能起调控作用。端粒酶的结构和功能决定了它有广泛的应用前景。

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein responsible in most eukaryotes for replication of the end of chromosmes. Its RNA subunit acts as a template for the systhesis of telomeric DNA, while a protein component catalyzes this process to make up for conventional DNA polymerases' inability to replicate completely the end of linear DNA. It belongs to the reverse transcriptase family but differs from reverse transcriptase. The absence of telomerase can induce many diseases in cell and organ level. The overexpression of telomerase has close relationship with cell's immortalization and tumorigenesis and the telomere associated proteins play a important role in the process. The structure and function of telomerase suggest its extensive application in the near future.