Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), which encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase, is highly expressed in a variety of invasive cancers, including HCC.
TERT protein levels were higher in HCC (n = 28) compared to normal liver tissues (n = 8) (p =0.001), but did not differ between mutated and non-mutated tumor tissues.
TERT promotermutations were significantly more frequent in hepatocellular carcinomas related to hepatitis C virus infection (5/6; 83.3%) compared to tumors of other etiologies (P = 0.001).
Although main HCC oncogenic drivers have been deciphered in recent years (TERT, TP53, CTNNB1 mutations, miR122 and CDKN2A silencing), therapeutic applications derived from this molecular knowledge are still limited.
Because the TERT activity is elevated in most cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the current study aims to investigate whether Telomelysin can be used for treatment of HCC.
Consistently, TERT expression levels in RNs were comparable to those in normal livers, whereas every HCC tissue demonstrated an elevated level of TERT expression.
Development of a novel assay to quantify serum human telomerase reverse transcriptase messenger RNA and its significance as a tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Furthermore, knockdown of human telomerase reverse transcriptase expression mitigated the hepatitis B virus core protein-enhanced hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and clone formation in vitro.
h-TERT mRNA seemed to prove more valuable than AFP mRNA not only to assess preoperative treatment modalities and postoperative patient surveillance, but also to evaluate prospective LDLT patients with HCC.
Here, in a hepatocellular carcinoma-prone model brought about through toxin-induced hepatocyte injury and regeneration, we sought to determine the cooperative interactions of germ line p53 mutation and telomere dysfunction [produced by telomerase reverse transcriptase (mTERT) gene knockout].