Klin Onkol 1999; 12(3): 73-77.
Summary: The senescence of somatic cells caused by limited number of their possible divisions is regulated by the process of gradual length reduction of the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres. However, tumor and germ cells possess a regulatory mechanism for eliminating this replicative senescence by means of telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme which is able to prevent telomere length reduction. In this work we describe new knowledge about the "DNA end replication problem" in somatic cells, about the reaction of telomerase, and its role in tumor biology.
