Can telomerase be used as a product to extend cell life span?
The development of better cellular models of human disease and production of human products are among the immediate applications of this new advance. This technology has the potential to produce unlimited quantities of normal human cells of virtually any tissue type and may have most immediate translational applications in the area of transplantation medicine. In the future, it may be possible to take a person’s own cells, manipulate and rejuvenate them without using up their life span and then give them back to the patient. In addition, genetic engineering of telomerase-immortalized cells could lead to the development of cell-based therapies for certain genetic disorders.
