Telomestatin is a

macrocyclic Macrocycles are often described as molecules and ions containing a ring of twelve or more atoms. Classical examples include the crown ethers, calixarenes, porphyrins, and cyclodextrins. Macrocycles describe a large, mature area of chemistry. ...

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

that acts by inhibiting the

telomerase Telomerase, also called terminal transferase, is a ribonucleoprotein that adds a species-dependent telomere repeat sequence to the 3' end of telomeres. A telomere is a region of repetitive sequences at each end of the chromosomes of most euka ...

activity of ''in vitro'' cancer cells. It was first isolated from the bacteria '' Streptomyces anulatus''. Telomestatin induces the formation of basket-type

G-quadruplex In molecular biology, G-quadruplex secondary structures (G4) are formed in nucleic acids by sequences that are rich in guanine. They are helical in shape and contain guanine tetrads that can form from one, two or four strands. The unimolecular ...

(G4) structures from hybrid-type G-quadruplexes in the telomeric region. Upon formation of G4 structure there will be a decrease in the activity of the telomerase, which is involved in the replication of the telomeres and as a result the cell dies due to Hayflick type

senescence Senescence () or biological aging is the gradual deterioration of Function (biology), functional characteristics in living organisms. Whole organism senescence involves an increase in mortality rate, death rates or a decrease in fecundity with ...

References

{{reflist Macrocycles Oxazoles Thiazolines Telomeres