R. G. Hertzog**, V. A. Voicu *
* Acad. Prof. Dr. V. A. Voicu – Șeful catedrei de Toxicologie și Farmacologie Clinică, UMF Carol Davila, Centrul de cercetări științifice medico-militare
** Dr. R. G. Hertzog – Centrul de cercetări științifice medico-militare
Abstract
In normal somatic cells, the telomeres shorten with each cell division. By contrast, in tumour cells, telomere length is maintained through the reactivation of the telomerase. Telomerase inhibitors constitute a new class of anti-tumour agents able to cease the unlimitted proliferation of the cancer cells. In present, antisense molecules, reverse-transcriptase inhibitors and the agents able to interact with and stabilise G quartet represent the main strategies of telomerase suppression. If, in this moment, the telomerase could be consider an essential biochemical marker in diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring tumour response to therapy, by contrast, the use of the first drugs’ generation, based on telomerase inhibitors, in cancer therapy, request a lot of pharmacological and toxicological studies.