Telomeres in cancer and aging: lessons from the mouse

The analysis of mice deficient in telomerase activity has allowed to directly test the relevance of telomeres and telomerase in tumor development and aging in the context of a mammalian organism. More recently, mice with impaired telomere capping due to abrogation of telomere-binding proteins have been also characterized. Here, I will discuss these studies, as well as their implications for putative therapies based of telomerase inhibition of telomerase re-introduction for cancer or age-related diseases, respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.