Combination of tamoxifen and antisense human telomerase RNA inhibits glioma cell proliferation and anti-apoptosis via suppression of telomerase activity

accumulating evidence indicates that telomerase activity and human telomerase rna (hTr) play a potentially crucial role in maintaining the malignant progression of human gliomas. Tamoxifen (T aM) induces cell growth inhibition by modulating several cellular activities, including signaling path - ways and the cell cycle. in this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of combination therapy with T aM and antisense hTr on malignant glioma growth in vitro. TaM treatment and the down-regulation of hTr expression by antisense hTr resulted in a significant suppression of cell growth and the induction of cell apoptosis through the inhibition of telomerase activity. The antitumor effect of treatment with T aM alone was found to be mediated in part by the down-regulation of telomerase activity and of PKc and iGF-1 expression. our results indicate that Tantisense hTr may serve as a novel strategy for glioma therapy.