Do You Age?

[DialysisBag]

Hi, I'm a new member and currently starting my first year in college since graduating HS last spring. I plan to get a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology, and then continue to UCSF as a graduate.

 

My question for you all; I assume everyone knows about carcinoma telomerase production in all phases of the cell cycle. What small part of the cell cycle do 'normal' cells produce telomerase in? This is of course if normal cells indeed produce telomerase at all, but I heard rumors that they do (only in a tiny part right before the Go phase?). And I haven't surfed up any information on which gene is actually mutated to excessively produce telomerase (I doubt there is any...), but wouldn't this gene initially produce telomerase if it has been mutated to 'stream-line' cancer? Meaning that research is correct in its hypothesis that normal cells produce it?

 

Thanks.

 

~db

[DialysisBag]

Sorry, someone delete this for me... There is another topic very similiar to this one. My bad.

 

~db

[Martin]

Sorry' date=' someone delete this for me... There is another topic very similiar to this one. My bad.

 

~db[/quote']

 

maybe there is no need to delete it. this can be a thread to say hello and welcome

 

what other thread are you talking about?

one way to handle this kind of thing is to paste in a link to the thread where the similar topic is being discussed

 

since I am clueless about molecular biology, what is telomerase, what does it do? if it is not too out of place to ask.

[zyncod]

Cancers don't actually need to pick up mutations in genes themselves to overexpress telomerase. In fact, the most likely mechanism for overexpression of most genes is mutation of upstream regulatory sequences.

 

And you know where you want to go to grad school in your first year? I've gotta say, I'm a little envious - I'm two months away from my grad school deadlines and I've got no idea. I will be applying to UCSF tho - Cali is where its at. God, Manhattan is really pissing me off lately.

[lucaspa]

My question for you all; I assume everyone knows about carcinoma telomerase production in all phases of the cell cycle. What small part of the cell cycle do 'normal' cells produce telomerase in?

Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein and is present as a background enzyme in the nucleus. The telomeres are elongated during that phase of the cell cycle where DNA is copied -- S phase. Most somatic cells (other than stem cells) have very little or no telomerase.

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/T/Telomeres.html

 

In terms of cell cycle and telomerase production in cancer, this is a good paper to start with:

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/93/12/6091

 

And I haven't surfed up any information on which gene is actually mutated to excessively produce telomerase

It is a transcriptional control gene. Basically, it controls whether the gene for the protein part of telomerase is transcribed to mRNA. So, in cancer transription is turned on and large amounts of mRNA produced.