Analisi quantitativa della transcriptasi inversa (hTERT) della telomerasi su biopsie vescicali normali e neoplastiche

Telomerase activity has been found in 95% of bladder tumours, but not in normal tissues. The gene has recently been found that codifies for the telomerase catalytic subunit (hTERT). The aim of this study is to quantify the expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit - telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) - on biopsies of normal and neoplastic bladder mucosa through a real-time method RT-PCR. The authors analysed 38 biopsies from 22 patients who underwent transurethral endoscopic bladder resection. Low expression levels of hTERT mRNA were found in 58% of normal tissue specimens, while high levels were found in two samples with inflammatory lesions. The expression of hTERT mRNA was found in all neoplastic samples, with high values in 73%. Results show that this method has high sensitivity and its possibilities of use as a prognostic marker should be assessed over a large number of case histories.