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The Dietary Isoprenoid Perillyl Alcohol Inhibits Telomerase Activity In Prostate Cancer Cells, Tabetha Sundin
The Dietary Isoprenoid Perillyl Alcohol Inhibits Telomerase Activity In Prostate Cancer Cells, Tabetha Sundin
Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences
This is the first evidence that a plant-derived compound–perillyl alcohol regulates telomerase activity via the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in prostate cancer cells. Telomerase–the enzyme responsible for immortalizing cells through telomeric repeats addition–is de-repressed early in an aspiring cancer cell. We hypothesized that perillyl alcohol regulates hTERT (human telomerase reverse transcriptase) at the translational and post-translational levels via its effects on the mTOR pathway. A rapid suppression of telomerase activity was detected in prostate cancer cell lines (PC-3 and DU145) in response to biologically-relevant concentrations and short incubations of perillyl alcohol or the mTOR inhibitor—rapamycin.
Western blot analysis …