The level of activity of the alternative lengthening of telomeres correlates with patient age in IDH-mutant ATRX-loss-of-expression anaplastic astrocytomas.

ABSTRACT: All cancer cells need to maintain functional telomeres to sustain continuous cell division and proliferation. In human diffuse gliomas, functional telomeres are maintained due either to reactivation of telomerase expression, the main pathway in most cancer types, or to activation of a mechanism called the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The presence of IDH1/2 mutations (IDH-mutant) together with loss of ATRX expression (ATRX-lost) are frequently associated with ALT in diffuse gliomas. However, detection of ALT, and a fortiori its quantification, are rarely, if ever, measured in neuropathology laboratories. We measured the level of ALT activity using the previously described quantitative "C-circle" assay and analyzed it in a well characterized cohort of 104 IDH-mutant and ATRX-l

SUBMITTER: Grandin N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6842523 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature