Is telomerase moonlighting.(Brief Article)

The debate continues as to whether telomerase's only function is to promote telomere extension. In recent years evidence has suggested that the enzyme promotes cancer development and might have roles other than synthesizing telomere repeats. Now, Kavita Sarin of Stanford University and colleagues report that telomerase promotes proliferation of resting stem cells through a mechanism that does not involve telomere extension. (1)

The team studied the murine hair follicle, an organ that harbors stem cells and cycles between a telogen (resting) phase and an anagen (growing) phase. They built transgenic mice in which they could control the expression of TERT--the protein …