News Release 05-038
The First Key Piece of Telomerase
UCLA biochemists map a knot of RNA that's critical to the enzyme's functioning
A piece of the RNA in human telomerase - the first to have its structure determined.
March 14, 2005
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Every time a cell divides, the tips of its chromosomes become shorter. That process is part of normal aging but is reversed in some groups of rapidly dividing cells by an enzyme known as telomerase. That ability also makes telomerase a key player in the spread of most cancers.
Now, in research that could lead to important new targets for drug intervention, biochemists at UCLA have determined the 3-dimensional structure of a critical piece of the enzyme.
For further information, see the UCLA news release.
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and is the cover story in the March 4 issue of Molecular Cell.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Stuart Wolpert, UCLA, (310) 206-0511, email: stuartw@college.ucla.edu
M. Mitchell Waldrop, NSF, (703) 292-7752, email: mwaldrop@nsf.gov
Program Contacts
Kamal Shukla, NSF, (703) 292-7131, email: kshukla@nsf.gov
Principal Investigators
Juli Feigon, UCLA, (310) 206 6922, email: feigon@mbi.ucla.edu
Related Websites
Feigon Laboratory at UCLA: http://www.biochemistry.ucla.edu/biochem/Faculty/Feigon/
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