Telomerase activity and Telomere Lenght in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Forum rules
- Comments must be civil and on topic
- Back up claims with evidence/reasoning/sources (posting links is allowed)
- No commercials/harassment/spam
Post Reply
Fishermangents
Site Admin
Posts: 531
Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2015 3:39 pm

Telomerase activity and Telomere Lenght in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Post by Fishermangents » Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:35 pm

Telomerase Activity and Telomere Length in Human Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Stem-like Cells and Their Progeny Implies the Existence of Distinct Basal and Luminal Cell Lineages

Jayant K. Rane et al, European Urology, October 2015 / Published online: 09 October 2015

Abstract
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) treatments have changed little over many years and do not directly address the underlying cause. Because BPH is characterised by uncontrolled cell growth, the chromosomal telomeres should be eroded in the reported absence or low levels of telomerase activity, but this is not observed. We investigated the telomere biology of cell subpopulations from BPH patients undergoing transurethral resection of prostate (TURP). Measurement of TERC, TERT, and telomerase activity revealed that only the epithelial stem-like and progenitor fractions expressed high levels of telomerase activity (p < 0.01) and individual enzyme components (p < 0.01). Telomerase activity and TERT expression were not detected in stromal cells. Telomere length measurements reflected this activity, although the average telomere length of (telomerase-negative) luminal cells was equivalent to that of telomerase-expressing stem/progenitor cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of patient-derived BPH arrays identified distinct areas of luminal hyperproliferation, basal hyperproliferation, and basal–luminal hyperproliferation, suggesting that basal and luminal cells can proliferate independently of each other. We propose a separate lineage for the luminal and basal cell components in BPH.

Patient summary
We unexpectedly found an enzyme called telomerase in the cells that maintain benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), suggesting that telomerase inhibitors could be used to alleviate BPH symptoms.

Take Home Message
In benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a small population of basal cells expresses high levels of telomerase. Basal and luminal cells can proliferate independently, implying distinct basal and luminal lineages and suggesting that telomerase-blocking drugs could inhibit epithelial hyperproliferation in BPH.

link: http://www.europeanurology.com/article/ ... l-lineages

Post Reply