Telomerase Therapy Stimulates Blood-Vessel Growth

Karyotype changes were seen in both control and hTERT SMCs but were neither clonal nor representative of cancerous change. The hTERT cells also failed to show evidence of neoplastic transformation in functional assays of tumorigenicity.

"The cells were put through multiple tests,” explained senior author Dr. Laura Niklason, associate professor of anesthesiology and biomedical engineering at Duke University. "In no cases did the team find that telomerase-containing cells were capable of forming tumors, either in the lab or in animals. In addition, the team found that telomerase-containing cells actually had chromosomal makeups that were more normal than control cells. In other words, adding telomerase appeared to protect chromosomal integrity, to some degree. This result is an encouraging step along the road to new tissues for patients to replace those that have failed or have been destroyed due to trauma or disease.”



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