Label-free real-time investigation of the effect of telomerase inhibitors based on quartz crystal microbalance measurement

Abstract Telomerase maintains the functions of telomeres in many eukaryotes, and is related to cell senescence, apoptosis and the immortal phenotype of cancer cells. Telomerase is a well-validated cancer target and telomerase inhibitors that are able to selectively bind to telomerase are believed to be potential drugs for clinical treatment. However, the mechanisms of these inhibitors have often been deduced by non-quantitative telomerase assay (TRAP assay), which includes a PCR step that may influence the final result. We developed a label-free real-time method to detect telomerase activity. We then investigated the inhibitory effect of two telomerase inhibitors (EGCG and stavudine) and discuss the mechanism of these inhibitors.