Biotech Values

[microcapfun]

>>Can lengthening telomeres make a good cosmetic?
I rather doubt it, but here’s a company who wants
you to think it can.<<

My first reaction to seeing the Geron PR this morning was to let out a "have they sunk so low as to deal in cosmetics and nutraceuticals?" moan. My 2nd reaction was to think that it could be more serious than that.

When telomerase is activated in completely normal somatic cells, you don't get cancer and the cell goes through more population doublings before reaching senescence. BUT ... consider a cell which has been around the block a few times, has p53 disabled, Ras/Raf/Mek/Erk etc. on hyperdrive ... and is only missing the activation of telomerase to become a tumor cell - hell ... a tumor STEM cell. Maybe this cell has senesced and is quietly minding its own business ... And suddenly is has telomerase temporarily activated and gets to roll the dice a few more times to see if it can activate telomerase permanently.

Come on ... snake eyes!

In small animals, telomerase activation has given rise to an increased number of cancers in some experiments.

So one might worry quite a lot about a telomerase activating nutritional supplement on the market (mixed in with ginko biloba, warts from St. John, etc.) that has never been tested in humans.

On the other hand, the Geron CEO has claimed that in early experiments, their particular small molecule telomerase activator has activity only in cells which are not "pre-malignant".

I have no idea what mechanism could give rise to that. Is it possible?

I suspect that Geron's deal is arranged so that if Asia Biotech Corp's nutraceutical gives a lot of people cancer, Geron will be indemnified or otherwise off the legal hook.

Now if it doesn't give anyone cancer, I'll probably be interested in taking it! Experiments have shown, in particular, that T cells are more potent if they have longer telomeres ...

micro