Telomerase Therapy Stimulates Blood-Vessel Growth

Researchers have found that by inserting the enzyme telomerase into vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), they can stimulate growth of new blood vessels in elderly patients without exposing them to the risk of developing cancer.

Investigators at Duke University (Durham, NC, USA) used a retrovirus to insert the gene for human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) into SMCs taken from eight elderly patients and one young donor.

They reported in the March 7, 2006, online edition of the Proceedings of the [U.S.] National Academy of Sciences that in the hTERT SMCs, significant lifespan extension beyond that of control was achieved without population doubling-time acceleration. Karyotype changes were seen in both control and hTERT SMCs but were neither clonal nor representative of cancerous change. The hTERT cells also failed to show evidence of neoplastic transformation in functional assays of tumorigenicity.

"The cells were put through multiple tests,” explained senior author Dr. Laura Niklason, associate professor of anesthesiology and biomedical engineering at Duke University. "In no cases did the team find that telomerase-containing cells were capable of forming tumors, either in the lab or in animals. In addition, the team found that telomerase-containing cells actually had chromosomal makeups that were more normal than control cells. In other words, adding telomerase appeared to protect chromosomal integrity, to some degree. This result is an encouraging step along the road to new tissues for patients to replace those that have failed or have been destroyed due to trauma or disease.”



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