One of the core regulators of cellular aging are telomeres, repetitive DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes that are maintained by the ribonucleoprotein DNA polymerase complex, telomerase. Recently, we demonstrated that knockdown of the 37kDa/ 67kDa laminin receptor (LRP/LR), a protein that promotes cell viability in tumorigenic and normal cells, reduces telomerase activity. We therefore hypothesized that upregulating LRP/LR might increase telomerase activity and impede aging. Here we show that overexpression of LRP::FLAG resulted in significantly elevated hTERT levels, telomerase activity and telomere length, respectively, with concomitantly reduced levels of senescence markers. These data suggest a novel function of LRP/LR hampering the onset of senescence through elevating hTERT levels and telomerase activity, respectively. LRP::FLAG might therefore act as a potential novel anti-aging drug through the impediment of the cellular aging process.
Keywords: LRP/LR; LRP::FLAG; aging; telomerase; telomeres.