Measuring Telomerase Activity using Label-Free Interaction Analysis

In this application note, a telomerase assay developed by Dr. Chihaya Maesawa and colleagues is described. The TRE assay measures telomerase activity using a Biacore system by monitoring telomere elongation on a sensor surface, on which changes in mass concentration changes are measured, providing real-time, label-free measurement of the elongation of surface-bound oligonucleotides. The data show that the TRE assay is capable of measuring telomerase activity from a wide range of cell and tissue extracts, providing a concentration- and time-dependent readout of elongation rates. The results were similar to those from standard TRAP assays and moreover, the TRE assay was shown to have a number of significant advantages over the PCR-based method.