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Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (생화학분자생물학회)
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Implications of telomerase reverse transcriptase in tumor metastasis

  • Zou, Yongkang (Institute of Cancer Research, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory) ;
  • Cong, Yu-sheng (Key Laboratory of Aging and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou Normal University) ;
  • Zhou, Junzhi (Key Laboratory of Aging and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou Normal University)
  • Received : 2020.05.22
  • Accepted : 2020.07.14
  • Published : 2020.09.30
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Abstract

Metastasis is the main culprit of the great majority of cancerrelated deaths. However, the complicated process of the invasion-metastasis cascade remains the least understood aspect of cancer biology. Telomerase plays a pivotal role in bypassing cellular senescence and sustaining the cancer progression by maintaining telomere homeostasis and genomic integrity. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) exerts a series of fundamental functions that are independent of its enzymatic cellular activity, including proliferation, inflammation, epithelia-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis, DNA repair, and gene expression. Accumulating evidence indicates that TERT may facilitate most steps of the invasion-metastasis cascade. In this review, we summarize important advances that have revealed some of the mechanisms by which TERT facilitates tumor metastasis, providing an update on the non-canonical functions of telomerase beyond telomere maintaining.

Keywords

References

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