>CurtAdams wrote:
>> I remain puzzled how telomerase could
>> avert the chromosomal traslocations, fissions, and fusions characteristic
>> of senescing cells and wonder if the human telomerase has regulatory
>> functions as well as enzymatic ones.
>
>Here's a question for you, if our cells have the genes that code for
>telomerase, why isn't it active in all cells?
Well, it shows up in the overwhelming majority of cancer cells, so the
presumption is that telomerase suppression interferes with the development
of cancer.
>Could it be that telomerase has other functions?
Yes, of course.
>Could it be that the genes of telomerase
>code other proteins that must be inibited after cellular differentiation?
Possible, but alternative splicing is unusual with eukaryotic proteins.
>Could it be that telomerase is harmful in some tissues?
Yes, again.