Table 1.

Telomerase-based targeting of cancer therapy

Experimental approach	Characteristics of anticancer activity	Refs.
Immune elimination of telomerase-expressing cells	Eliminates cells that express TERT protein and that present TERT peptide in association with cell surface major histocompatibility molecules Effective only against TERT-expressing tumor cells Anticipated to affect TERT-expressing normal cells	12–14
Inhibition of telomerase enzymatic activity	Acts by producing progressive telomere shortening over the course of repeated cell division, hence delayed effects: tumor cell growth inhibition and cell death Effective only against telomerase-dependent tumor cells Anticipated to affect telomerase-dependent growth and function of normal somatic and germ-line cells	5–7
Expression of mutant telomerase RNA template	Presumably acts by disrupting telomere function after synthesis of mutant telomere repeats, leading to decreased cell growth and increased tumor cell death Presumably effective only against telomerase-expressing tumor cells Anticipated to affect telomerase-expressing normal cells	3,15