Zhong Wen1, Jian-Yun Xiao, Meng-He Guo. 1. Department of Otolaryngology, Zhujiang Hospital, First Military Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of telomere shortening in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: Southern blotting was employed to determine the mean telomere length (MTL) in 42 tumor samples and 15 samples of the tissues adjacent to the tumors obtained from 42 NPC patients, along with the tissue specimens from 17 patients with chronic nasopharyngitis. RESULTS: In NPC tissues, the length of the MTL was 4.5+/-2.3 kb, obviously shorter than those of the MTL in tissues adjacent to the tumor 14.6+/-2.8 kb and in chronic nasopharyngitis 15.8+/-3.1 kb. CONCLUSION: Telomere shortening may play an important role in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal epithelium cell malignancies.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of telomere shortening in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: Southern blotting was employed to determine the mean telomere length (MTL) in 42 tumor samples and 15 samples of the tissues adjacent to the tumors obtained from 42 NPC patients, along with the tissue specimens from 17 patients with chronic nasopharyngitis. RESULTS: In NPC tissues, the length of the MTL was 4.5+/-2.3 kb, obviously shorter than those of the MTL in tissues adjacent to the tumor 14.6+/-2.8 kb and in chronic nasopharyngitis 15.8+/-3.1 kb. CONCLUSION: Telomere shortening may play an important role in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal epithelium cell malignancies.