The present invention provides a method for screening for a telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) phosphorylation inhibitor using TERT or a fragment thereof, and a TERT kinase.

Methods of determining polymerase fidelity are provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises filling a gapped plasmid with a polymerase to form a gap-filled plasmid, wherein the gap-filled plasmid comprises a gene encoding an protein that is functional or non-functional depending on the polymerase fidelity; forming a plurality of partitions from a solution comprising the gap-filled plasmid and a label for detecting the presence of the plasmid; detecting the presence of the gap-filled plasmid in one or more of the partitions; and determining the fidelity of the polymerase by determining a ratio of partitions containing the gene encoding a functional protein to partitions containing a gene encoding a non-functional protein.

A first aspect of the invention relates to a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or prodrug thereof, wherein the groups are as defined in the claims. Further aspects of the invention relate to pharmaceutical compositions comprising compounds of formula (I), and the use of compounds of formula (I) in the preparation of a medicament for treating a viral disorder. ##STR00001##

A method for producing telomerase activators which provide to obtain new/novel molecules (metabolites) from saponin group compounds by using biotransformation with endophytic fungi and telomerase activators obtained by this method. Included is the elucidation of chemical structures and investigation of the effects of telomerase enzyme activation in cells. These molecules have the potential to be used in diseases and/or conditions that can be treated/ameliorated by telomerase activation and associated with telomere shortening (For example; HIV, degenerative diseases, acute and chronic wound healing, ex vivo cell therapies and stem cell proliferation due to increment in vitro and ex-vivo replicative capacity of cells).

This invention provides compositions and methods to treat a condition or disease without the use of exogenous targeting sequences or chemical compositions. The present invention relates to single-domain antibodies (sdAbs), proteins and polypeptides comprising the sdAbs that are directed against targets that cause a condition or disease. The invention also includes nucleic acids encoding the sdAbs, proteins and polypeptides, and compositions comprising the sdAbs. The invention includes the use of the compositions, sdAbs, and nucleic acids encoding the sdAbs for prophylactic, therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.

The disclosure provides methods for resolving an inconclusive cytological assessment of clinically relevant cells in a sample obtained from a patient based on the cytological detection of an antibody binding to a diagnostic protein in the clinically relevant cells in the sample.

This invention provides compositions and methods to treat a condition or disease without the use of exogenous targeting sequences or chemical compositions. The present invention relates to single-domain antibodies (sdAbs), proteins and polypeptides comprising the sdAbs that are directed against targets that cause a condition or disease. The invention also includes nucleic acids encoding the sdAbs, proteins and polypeptides, and compositions comprising the sdAbs. The invention includes the use of the compositions, sdAbs, and nucleic acids encoding the sdAbs for prophylactic, therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.

The present disclosure describes purified telomerase holoenzyme and its delivery to cells, such as T cells, for increasing telomere length, increasing cell proliferation, and impeding cell senescence.

The present invention relates to a method for assessing susceptibility of a virus to treatment with a drug inhibiting an enzyme of the wild-type virus comprising the steps: a) extracting the viral enzyme from a sample containing the virus; b) measuring the viral enzyme activity both in the absence of the drug and in the presence of the drug at a single predetermined concentration; and c) determining the virus' susceptibility to treatment with the drug from the relation between the enzyme activities in the presence of the drug and the absence of the drug. The invention further relates to a system for performing the method.

The invention relates to methods for producing gold nanoparticles functionalised with a telomerase substrate, or a linker nucleic acid having a region complementary to a nucleic acid comprising a telomerase substrate, for use in detecting telomerase activity. Functionalised gold nanoparticle solutions and functionalised gold nanoparticles obtained using the method are also provided for. The invention further relates to a functionalised gold nanoparticle complex, comprising gold nanoparticles coupled to a linker nucleic acid which is hybridised to a nucleic acid comprising a telomerase substrate. Telomerase assays using the functionalised gold nanoparticles or functionalised gold nanoparticle complexes of the invention and kits for detecting telomerase activity in a cell, comprising the functionalised gold nanoparticles or functionalised gold nanoparticle complexes of the invention are also provided for.