Therapeutic Targets and Drugs IV: Telomerase-Specific Gene and Vector-Based Therapies for Human Cancer

摘要: Recent advances in genetic engineering technology have opened a new avenue of gene-and vector-based therapies for human cancer. For targeting cancer cells, there is need tissue- or cell-specific promoters that can express diverse tumor types but are silent normal cells. Genetic approaches fostered remarkable insights into the molecular basis neoplasm, and number oncotropic vectors been thus generated with exceptional properties regarding tumor-restricted specificity. Human telomerase highly active more than 85% primary cancers, regardless their tissue origins, its activity correlates closely reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression. Since only cells would activate this promoter, hTERT proximal promoter allows preferential expression therapeutic genes Moreover, oncolytic viruses combine specificity promoter-based systems lytic efficacy replicative being developed as novel anticancer therapeutics currently undergoing clinical trial. Although these strategies further refinement to succeed clinically, confers competence selective replication virus cancer, an outcome has important implications treatment cancers. This article reviews recent findings rapidly evolving field: diagnostic using promoter.