Wright/Shay telomerase success persists

From: Damien Broderick (damien@ariel.ucs.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Fri Jul 10 1998 - 06:05:26 MDT


I asked Woodring E. Wright, M.D., Ph.D., who with Dr Shay did the key
telomerase breakthrough work announced back in January in SCIENCE, how
matters were progressing. I had not been able to find any indication since
about March 1998 of the on-going survival or otherwise of the fibroblasts
treated with telomerase. The March mention on Geron's site was that they
had exceeded their Hayflick limit by some 20 replications. Dr Wright now
reports:

< All of the cultures continue to divide well. For the BJ fibroblasts,
most of the controls senesced at about PD 65, whereas the hTERT clones
are now mostly between 180 and 200 PD. Thus, one could say they have now
doubled-tripled their lifespan. >

This is wonderful and hopeful news.

Damien Broderick



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