Native human telomerase can be as large as 3000Kd. This indicates that many additional factors of this ribonucleoprotein remain to be discovered. These telomerase-associated factors likely influence the assembly, maturation, function and regulation of telomerase and therefore, influence its role in cancer and aging. However, relatively little is known about the auxiliary components of human telomerase. We have identified several novel components of the telomerase holoenzyme. Two of the novel proteins include hnRNP C1/C2, members of the hnRNP family of RNA binding proteins that have been implicated to have roles in telomere biology in the past. We propose to determine the function these proteins play in telomerase and telomere biology using several direct approaches. The research described herein will provide information that could allow for the targeting of these novel factors in the telomerase holoenzyme and may one-day lead to the treatment of cancer and aging related disorders.
