telomerase
Americannoun
noun
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An enzyme that preserves the length of telomeres across cell divisions in germ cells, stem cells, and most cancer cells. A kind of reverse transcriptase, telomerase is an RNA-containing enzyme that synthesizes the DNA of telomeres by reverse transcription. It is active during DNA replication and is thought to play a role in the proliferation and apparent immortality of cells in which it is present. In cells that lack telomerase (that is, in most somatic cells of the body), the telomeres of chromosomes shorten and eventually disappear over repeated cell divisions. The inhibition of telomerase is being investigated as a method of killing cancerous cells.
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See more at telomere
Etymology
Origin of telomerase
telomere + -ase
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"With biochemical analysis, we can test their patients' mutation to see if it impacts how RPA interacts with telomerase, and give the doctors insights into possible causes of their patients' diseases."
From Science Daily ● Dec. 11, 2025
Using insights from AlphaFold, the team verified experimentally that, in humans, RPA is necessary to activate telomerase and preserve telomere length.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 11, 2025
Scientists have long known how telomerase maintains the length of the G-rich strand, but only recently was it recognized that the same problem also exists for the C-rich strand.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2024
"This is a major focus of our lab, and one of the reasons we'll be looking into the interplay between CST-Polα/primase and telomerase more closely in the future."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2024
The presence of telomerase meant cells could keep regenerating their telomeres indefinitely.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
