Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Cell and Developmental Biology

Old Dominion University

2012

Dietary isoprenoids

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology

The Dietary Isoprenoid Perillyl Alcohol Inhibits Telomerase Activity In Prostate Cancer Cells, Tabetha Sundin Apr 2012

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 …