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Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann logoLink to Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann
. 1997 Aug;88(8):732–737. doi: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1997.tb00444.x

Telomerase Activity and Metastasis: Expansion of Cells Having Higher Telomerase Activity within Culture Lines and Tumor Tissues

Yoshiyuki Saito 1,2, Shin‐ichi Kosugi 1, Takeshi Suda 1, Yuichi Wakabayashi 1, Yukio Mishima 1, Katsuyoshi Hatakeyama 2, Ryo Kominami 1,✉
PMCID: PMC5921497  PMID: 9330604

Abstract

Tumor cells with metastatie potential may have a high telomerase activity that augments telomeric DNA repeats, allowing the cells to escape from the inhibition of cell proliferation due to shortened telomeres. We examined the expression level of telomerase activity using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol among a series of cell lines obtained by repeated transplantation of a mouse fibrosarcoma. The lines could be grouped into three; one has no metastatic potential, and the other two show metastatic abilities after intravenous or subcutaneous injection. Comparison of their telomerase activity indicated that more malignant lines had higher activity. A similar relation was seen in metastatic nodules formed through clonal expansion from the heterogeneous population of inoculated cells; clonality was monitored in terms of variable patterns of subtelomeric repeats. The results suggest that a high level of telomerase activity may not be requisite for metastasis, but may confer a propensity to dominate in a tumor tissue.

Keywords: Telomere, Telomerase activity, Metastasis

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