telomerase

American  

[tuh-lom-uh-reys, ‑-reyz] / təˈlɒm əˌreɪs, ‑ˌreɪz /

noun

1. an enzyme, active chiefly in tumors and reproductive cells, that causes telomeres to lengthen: facilitates cell division and may account for the immortality of cancer cells.

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telomerase British  

/ tɛˈlɒməˌreɪz /

noun

1. an enzyme that is involved in the formation and repair of telomeres, so that chromosomes are not shortened during cell division

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telomerase Scientific  

/ tə-lŏm′ə-rās′,-rāz′ /

1. 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.

2. See more at telomere

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Etymology

Origin of telomerase

telomere + -ase

Example Sentences

Using insights from AlphaFold, the team verified experimentally that, in humans, RPA is necessary to activate telomerase and preserve telomere length.

From Science Daily

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

Without telomerase, telomeres would get shorter and shorter as a cell divides over and over again.

From Science Daily

Further, telomerase is only part of the solution -- cells also use the CST-Polα-primase complex, which has been extensively studied in de Lange's laboratory.

From Science Daily

But whether telomerase was to blame for this rogue telomere, and how healthy cells prevented this from happening, remained unclear.

From Science Daily