Telomerase maintains the length of telomeres in immortal cells and is also often associated with cell proliferation.
Cholesteatoma epithelium is characterized by a dysregulation with hyperproliferative growth. The study evaluated the
telomerase activity in
cholesteatoma and normal retro-auricular skin to discover the relationship between
telomerase expression and clinical findings. Twenty-two samples of
cholesteatoma and 15 samples of retro-auricular skin were obtained from patients undergoing middle-ear surgery. The
telomerase activity was detected by the
telomerase repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay method. Seventeen of the 22 (77.3 per cent)
cholesteatoma cases expressed
telomerase activity, whereas none of the 15 retro-auricular normal skin (0 per cent) detected
telomerase activity. There was no significant difference between
telomerase expressions and clinical findings, including hearing level, duration of disease, and the degree of extension (p>0.05). The high expression of
telomerase in
cholesteatoma suggests that the activation of
telomerase may be related to the proliferative nature of
cholesteatoma.