Genomics Inform.  2007 Mar;5(1):32-35.

An RNA Mapping Strategy to Identify Ribozyme-Accessible Sites on the Catalytic Subunit of Mouse Telomerase

• Song MS
• Lee SW

Abstract

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is an enzymatic ribonucleoprotein that prolongs the replicative life span of cells by maintaining protective structures at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomerase activity is highly up-regulated in 85-90% of human cancers, and is predominately regulated by hTERT expression. In contrast, most normal somatic tissues in humans express low or undetectable levels of telomerase activity. This expression profile identifies TERT as a potential anticancer target. By using an RNA mapping strategy based on a trans-splicing ribozyme library, we identified the regions of mouse TERT (mTERT) RNA that were accessible to ribozymes. We found that particularly accessible sites were present downstream of the AUG start codon. This mTERTspecific ribozyme will be useful for validation of the RNA replacement as cancer gene therapy approach in mouse model with syngeneic tumors.

Keyword

cancer; gene therapy; group I intron; mTERT; RNA replacement; trans-splicing ribozyme; RNA mapping

MeSH Terms

Animals
Catalytic Domain*
Codon, Initiator
Genes, Neoplasm
Genetic Therapy
Humans
Mice*
Ribonucleoproteins
RNA*
RNA, Catalytic
Telomerase*
Trans-Splicing
Codon, Initiator
RNA
RNA, Catalytic
Ribonucleoproteins
Telomerase