to Telomeres and Telomerase -- Detection of Chromosome Ends by Telomere FISH -- Telomere Length Distribution -- Analysis of Telomerase RNA Gene Expression by In Situ Hybridization -- Relative Gene Expression in Normal and Tumor Tissue by Quantitative RT-PCR -- Quantitative Detection of Telomerase Components by Real-Time, Online RT-PCR Analysis with the LightCycler -- Standard TRAP Assay -- Stretch PCR Assay -- Fluorescent Detection of Telomerase Activity -- Nonradioactive Detection of Telomerase Activity Using a PCR-ELISA-Based Telomeric Repeat Amplification Protocol -- In Situ TRAP Assay Detection of Telomerase Activity in Cytological Preparations -- Biotinylated Primer for Detecting Telomerase Activity Without Amplification -- Whole-Cell and Microcell Fusion for the Identification of Natural Regulators of Telomerase -- Screening with COMPARE Analysis forTelomerase Inhibitors -- Telomerase as a Therapeutic Target.

The discovery of telomerase expression in a majority of tumors and the recognition of its potential role in the aging process has dramatically raised its profile as a target for therapeutic intervention. In Telomeres and Telomerase: Methods and Protocols, John A. Double and Michael J. Thompson have collected a critically important series of novel and essential techniques for studying telomeres and telomerase. These readily reproducible protocols provide cutting-edge tools to identify, measure, and analyze telomeres, to determine telomerase expression at the RNA level, to determine telomerase activity, and to detect potential modifiers of this activity. The techniques for assaying telomerase activity range from standard radiological TRAP assays to nonradioactive methods, from non-PCR-based methods to techniques using real-time PCR. Written by investigators who have used the methods extensively, each protocol includes step-by-step instructions, tips on avoiding pitfalls, and invaluable notes that make all the difference to successful experimental outcomes. Broad-ranging and highly practical, Telomeres and Telomerase: Methods and Protocols provides molecular and cell biologists, cancer researchers, and cellular pathologists with the core array of productive techniques needed today to develop telomerase inhibitors and clinically valuable diagnostic/prognostic telomerase markers.