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Telomerase: A Target for Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin in Cancer

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Reviews on New Drug Targets in Age-Related Disorders

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((PMISB,volume 1286))

Abstract

Telomerases are attractive targets for development of new anticancer agents. Most tumors express the enzyme telomerase that maintains telomere length and thus ensures indefinite cell proliferation, a hallmark of cancer. Curcumin has been shown to be effective against several types of malignancies and has also been shown to have inhibitory effects on telomerase activity. Hence, the aim of this chapter is to review the available investigations of curcumin on telomerase activity. Based on the findings obtained from the different studies here, we conclude that the telomerase inhibitory effects of curcumin are integral to its anticancer activity, and thus curcumin may be useful therapeutically in the cancer field.

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Conflict of Interest

Muhammed Majeed is the Founder and Chairman of Sabinsa Corporation and Sami Labs Limited. Other authors declare no competing interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Fatemeh Forouzanfar

  2. Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Fatemeh Forouzanfar

  3. Sabinsa Corporation, East Windsor, NJ, USA

    Muhammed Majeed

  4. Department of Food Science and Technology, Quchan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Quchan, Iran

    Tannaz Jamialahmadi

  5. Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Tannaz Jamialahmadi

  6. Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  7. Neurogenic Inflammation Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

  8. Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital Research Institute (PMMHRI), Lodz, Poland

    Amirhossein Sahebkar

Authors
  1. Fatemeh Forouzanfar
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  2. Muhammed Majeed
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  3. Tannaz Jamialahmadi
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  4. Amirhossein Sahebkar
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Neuroproteomics Department of Biochemistry and Tissue Biology, Institute of Biology University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Paul C. Guest

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Forouzanfar, F., Majeed, M., Jamialahmadi, T., Sahebkar, A. (2021). Telomerase: A Target for Therapeutic Effects of Curcumin in Cancer. In: Guest, P.C. (eds) Reviews on New Drug Targets in Age-Related Disorders. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1286. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55035-6_10

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