Suppression of alternative lengthening of telomeres by Sp100-mediated sequestration of the MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 complex.

ABSTRACT: Approximately 10% of cancers overall use alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) instead of telomerase to prevent telomere shortening, and ALT is especially common in astrocytomas and various types of sarcomas. The hallmarks of ALT in telomerase-negative cancer cells include a unique pattern of telomere length heterogeneity, rapid changes in individual telomere lengths, and the presence of ALT-associated promyelocytic leukemia bodies (APBs) containing telomeric DNA and proteins involved in telomere binding, DNA replication, and recombination. The ALT mechanism appears to involve recombination-mediated DNA replication, but the molecular details are largely unknown. In telomerase-null Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an analogous survivor mechanism is dependent on the RAD50 gene. We demonstrate

SUBMITTER: Jiang WQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1061646 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature