Telomerase and drug resistance in cancer

• Published in: Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS Vol. 74; no. 22; pp. 4121 - 4132
• Main Authors: Lipinska, Natalia, Romaniuk, Aleksandra, Paszel-Jaworska, Anna, Toton, Ewa, Kopczynski, Przemyslaw, Rubis, Blazej
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-11-2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 5-Fluorouracil; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents - toxicity; Apoptosis - drug effects; ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters - metabolism; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer; Cell Biology; Cisplatin; DNA Damage - drug effects; Doxorubicin; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm - drug effects; G-Quadruplexes - drug effects; Gene expression; Genomes; Genomic instability; Humans; Life Sciences; Mitochondria; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - metabolism; Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplastic Stem Cells - cytology; Neoplastic Stem Cells - enzymology; Neoplastic Stem Cells - metabolism; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases - metabolism; Review; Stability; Telomerase; Telomerase - metabolism; Telomerase reverse transcriptase; Translocation; Vault Ribonucleoprotein Particles - metabolism; Telomeres; hTERT expression; Telomere shortening; Drug resistance; Telomerase; Cancer; G-quadruplex stabilizers
• ISSN: 1420-682X; 1420-9071
• DOI: 10.1007/s00018-017-2573-2

It is well known that a decreased expression or inhibited activity of telomerase in cancer cells is accompanied by an increased sensitivity to some drugs (e.g., doxorubicin, cisplatin, or 5-fluorouracil). However, the mechanism of the resistance resulting from telomerase alteration remains elusive. There are theories claiming that it might be associated with telomere shortening, genome instability, hTERT translocation, mitochondria functioning modulation, or even alterations in ABC family gene expression. However, association of those mechanisms, i.e., drug resistance and telomerase alterations, is not fully understood yet. We review the current theories on the aspect of the role of telomerase in cancer cells resistance to therapy. We believe that revealing/unravelling this correlation might significantly contribute to an increased efficiency of cancer cells elimination, especially the most difficult ones, i.e., drug resistant.