[HTML][HTML] Telomere shortening and tumor formation by mouse cells lacking telomerase RNA

MA Blasco, HW Lee, MP Hande, E Samper… - Cell, 1997 - cell.com
To examine the role of telomerase in normal and neoplastic growth, the telomerase RNA
component (mTR) was deleted from the mouse germline. mTR−/− mice lacked detectable
telomerase activity yet were viable for the six generations analyzed. Telomerase-deficient
cells could be immortalized in culture, transformed by viral oncogenes, and generated
tumors in nude mice following transformation. Telomeres were shown to shorten at a rate of
4.8±2.4 kb per mTR−/− generation. Cells from the fourth mTR−/− generation onward …
Abstract
To examine the role of telomerase in normal and neoplastic growth, the telomerase RNA component (mTR) was deleted from the mouse germline. mTR−/− mice lacked detectable telomerase activity yet were viable for the six generations analyzed. Telomerase-deficient cells could be immortalized in culture, transformed by viral oncogenes, and generated tumors in nude mice following transformation. Telomeres were shown to shorten at a rate of 4.8 ± 2.4 kb per mTR−/− generation. Cells from the fourth mTR−/− generation onward possessed chromosome ends lacking detectable telomere repeats, aneuploidy, and chromosomal abnormalities, including end-to-end fusions. These results indicate that telomerase is essential for telomere length maintenance but is not required for establishment of cell lines, oncogenic transformation, or tumor formation in mice.
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