Antisense Sp1 oligodeoxynucleotide decreases telomerase activity by inhibiting hTERT mRNA expression in Jurkat T cells.

AIM: To study the effects of transcriptional factor Sp1 antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) on telomerase activity and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) expression. METHODS: Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) was designed to inhibit Sp1 expression and transferred to Jurkat T cells by lipofectamin. Telomerase PCR-ELISA was used to detect telomerase activity. RT-PCR analysis was used to assess the mRNA expression of Sp1 and hTERT, and Western blot was used to analyze the levels of Sp1 protein. RESULTS: Treatment of Jurkat T cells with Sp1 antisense ODN (1 micromol/L) dramatically reduced Sp1 mRNA and protein levels. The inhibition rate was 44.8 % (P <0.05) and 57 % (P <0.01), respectively. Following the transcriptional factor Sp1 functionally altering, hTERT mRNA expression were suppressed with a 43.7 % inhibition rate (P <0.01). A dose-dependent inhibition of telomerase activity by antisense Sp1 ODN was also discovered. From 0.25 to 2.0 micromol/L, telomerase activity was reduced from 27.1 % to 64.6 %. CONCLUSION: Antisense Sp1 ODN decreases telomerase activity by inhibiting hTERT mRNA expression in Jurkat T cells.