Potent Inhibition of Human Telomerase by Small Chemical Compounds

Telomerase activity is expressed in most types of cancer cells but not in normal somatic cells, suggesting that telomerase may be an important target for cancer chemotherapy. Inhibition of telomerase results in telomere erosion leading to the subsequent growth-arrest of cancer cells followed by senescence or cell death. In this study, we screened a chemical library for inhibition of human telomerase, identifying two groups of inhibitors. (omitted)