Dcaf11 facilitates telomere elongation in early embryos and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) through activating the Zscan4-mediated alternative lengthening telomere (ALT) mechanism
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PROVIDER: PRJNA548906 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:Telomeres play vital roles in ensuring chromosome stability and are thus closely linked with the onset of aging and human disease. Telomeres undergo extensive lengthening during early embryogenesis through the so-called alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT) mechanism. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of telomere resetting in early embryos remains unknown. Here, we showed that Dcaf11 participates in telomere elongation in early embryos and 2-cell-like embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in a telomerase-independent manner. The deletion of Dcaf11 in embryos and ESCs leads to reduced telomere sister-chromatid exchange (T-SCE) and impairs telomere lengthening. Importantly, Dcaf11-deficient mice exhibit gradual telomere erosion with successive generations, and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) activity is greatly compromised. Mechanistically, DCAF11 reactivates Zscan4 and facilitates the removal of heterochromatic H3K9me3 at telomere/subtelomere regions through targeting TRIM28 for ubiquitination-mediated degradation. Our study therefore demonstrates that the ALT factor Dcaf11 plays important roles in telomere elongation in early embryos and ESCs.
2021-01-01 | GSE132745 | GEO
Project description:Telomeres play vital roles in ensuring chromosome stability and are thus closely linked with the onset of aging and human disease. Telomeres undergo extensive lengthening during early embryogenesis. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of telomere resetting in early embryos remains unknown. Here, we show that Dcaf11 (Ddb1- and Cul4-associated factor 11) participates in telomere elongation in early embryos and 2-cell-like embryonic stem cells (ESCs). The deletion of Dcaf11 in embryos and ESCs leads to reduced telomere sister-chromatid exchange (T-SCE) and impairs telomere lengthening. Importantly, Dcaf11-deficient mice exhibit gradual telomere erosion with successive generations, and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) activity is also greatly compromised. Mechanistically, Dcaf11 targets Kap1 (KRAB-associated protein 1) for ubiquitination-mediated degradation, leading to the activation of Zscan4 downstream enhancer and the removal of heterochromatic H3K9me3 at telomere/subtelomere regions. Our study therefore demonstrates that Dcaf11 plays important roles in telomere elongation in early embryos and ESCs through activating Zscan4.
2021-07-17 | GSE180259 | GEO
Project description:Most sarcomas have complex karyotype and are characterized by multiple chromosomal rearrangements. Moreover, sarcomas very frequently maintain their telomeres by recombination in the process called Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) which enables their continuous growth and immortalization. Previously our group showed that orphan receptors bind specifically to the ALT telomeres and that their presence is important for the ALT mechanism. In these studies we focus on the function of orphan receptors at the telomeres and their contribution to telomeric recombination. We demonstrate that orphan receptors induce proximity of their binding sites in telomeric and genomic context and reveal novel aspects of ALT which are telomere-genome rearrangements which can underlie complexity of sarcomas. Our data perturb the dogma of telomere function in protecting the genome integrity. Here we show that in some cases telomeres may in fact drive genomic instability and chromosomal rearrangements by recombination with genomic sites. Characterization of TRF2 and orphan receptor NR2F/C2 binding sites in ALT (-) and ALT (+) cells.
2015-02-23 | E-GEOD-46237 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Our study demonstrates that Dcaf11 plays important roles in telomere elongation in early embryos and ESCs through activating Zscan4.
2021-01-01 | GSE159552 | GEO
Project description:Most sarcomas have complex karyotype and are characterized by multiple chromosomal rearrangements. Moreover, sarcomas very frequently maintain their telomeres by recombination in the process called Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) which enables their continuous growth and immortalization. Previously our group showed that orphan receptors bind specifically to the ALT telomeres and that their presence is important for the ALT mechanism. In these studies we focus on the function of orphan receptors at the telomeres and their contribution to telomeric recombination. We demonstrate that orphan receptors induce proximity of their binding sites in telomeric and genomic context and reveal novel aspects of ALT which are telomere-genome rearrangements which can underlie complexity of sarcomas. Our data perturb the dogma of telomere function in protecting the genome integrity. Here we show that in some cases telomeres may in fact drive genomic instability and chromosomal rearrangements by recombination with genomic sites.
2015-02-23 | GSE46237 | GEO
Project description:The Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) facilitates telomere lengthening by a DNA strand invasion and copying mechanism. The nuclear receptor NR2F2 can bind to (TCAGGG)n variant repeats within telomeres and it has been proposed that this facilitates telomere interactions in ALT+ cells. However, the role NR2F2 in regulation the gene expression in ALT+ cell lines is unclear. Here, using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), we characterised the changes in expression profile of three ALT+ cell lines (W-V, WI38VA13/2RA, U2OS) upon transient siRNA mediated downregulation of NR2F2 compared to cells treated with a control siRNA . Among 86 ALT-associated genes, only MND1 showed consistent down-regulation across the three NR2F2-depleted ALT+ cell lines. Altogether our data indicate that NR2F2 it does not play a direct role in the ALT mechanism.
2020-12-15 | E-MTAB-9599 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) supports telomere maintenance and replicative immortality in around 10-15% of cancers, thus representing a compelling target for therapy.To identify anti-cancer drugs that can be repurposed as ALT-centered therapies, we performed for a compound library screen on isogenic cell lines that rely either on telomerase or ALT mechanisms. We validated candidates on a panel of ALT- vs. telomerase-positive sarcoma cells and assessed levels of extrachromosomal telomeric C-circles after drug treatment, as a bona fide marker of ALT activity. We identified a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor ponatinib that deregulated ALT mechanisms, increased telomeric replicative stress and induced telomeric dysfunction in ALT cells. Using a model of ALT sarcoma xenografts, we found that ponatinib targeted ALT-positive cells and mitigated telomere elongation in these tumors. To identify the mode of action of ponatinib on ALT, we performed RNA-sequencing and quantitative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses, and shortlisted candidates to test the effect of their loss on telomeric C-circle levels. We identified an ABL1-JNK-JUN signalling circuit to be inhibited by ponatinib and to have a role in suppressing extrachromosomal telomeric C-circle formation. Furthermore, transcriptome and interactome analyses of JUN suggested a role of JUN in DNA damage repair pathways, independently of its capacity as a transcription factor. These results were corroborated by new synergistic drug interactions between ponatinib and either DNA synthesis or repair inhibitors such as triciribine and KU-60019, respectively. Overall, we identified a novel signalling pathway impacting ALT which can be targeted by a clinically approved kinase inhibitor.
2022-03-14 | PXD032188 | Pride
Project description:Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) supports telomere maintenance and replicative immortality in around 10-15% of cancers, thus representing a compelling target for therapy.To identify anti-cancer drugs that can be repurposed as ALT-centered therapies, we performed for a compound library screen on isogenic cell lines that rely either on telomerase or ALT mechanisms. We validated candidates on a panel of ALT- vs. telomerase-positive sarcoma cells and assessed levels of extrachromosomal telomeric C-circles after drug treatment, as a bona fide marker of ALT activity. We identified a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor ponatinib that deregulated ALT mechanisms, increased telomeric replicative stress and induced telomeric dysfunction in ALT cells. Using a model of ALT sarcoma xenografts, we found that ponatinib targeted ALT-positive cells and mitigated telomere elongation in these tumors. To identify the mode of action of ponatinib on ALT, we performed RNA-sequencing and quantitative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analyses, and shortlisted candidates to test the effect of their loss on telomeric C-circle levels. We identified an ABL1-JNK-JUN signalling circuit to be inhibited by ponatinib and to have a role in suppressing extrachromosomal telomeric C-circle formation. Furthermore, transcriptome and interactome analyses of JUN suggested a role of JUN in DNA damage repair pathways, independently of its capacity as a transcription factor. These results were corroborated by new synergistic drug interactions between ponatinib and either DNA synthesis or repair inhibitors such as triciribine and KU-60019, respectively. Overall, we identified a novel signalling pathway impacting ALT which can be targeted by a clinically approved kinase inhibitor.
2023-02-20 | PXD037501 | Pride
Project description:Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) is an aberrant DNA recombination pathway which grants replicative immortality to approximately 10% of all cancers. Despite this high prevalence of ALT in cancer, the mechanism and genetics by which cells activate this pathway remain incompletely understood. A major challenge in dissecting the events that initiate ALT is the extremely low frequency of ALT induction in human cell systems. Guided by the genetic lesions that have been associated with ALT from cancer sequencing studies, we genetically engineered primary human pluripotent stem cells to deterministically induce ALT upon differentiation. Using this genetically defined system, we demonstrate that disruption of the p53 and Rb pathways in combination with ATRX loss-of-function is sufficient to induce all hallmarks of ALT and results in functional immortalization in a cell type-specific manner. We further demonstrate that ALT can be induced in the presence of telomerase, is neither dependent on telomere shortening nor crisis, but is rather driven by continuous telomere instability triggered by the induction of differentiation in ATRX-deficient stem cells.
2023-02-21 | GSE212809 | GEO
Project description:Telomerase-negative tumors can maintain telomere length by alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) but the mechanism of telomere maintenance in ALT cells is not well understood. A significant portion of the relapse Neuroblastoma (NB) tumors are positive for ALT which suggests better dissecting the ALT mechanism could provide novel therapeutic opportunities. TERRA RNA which is derived from the telomere ends is localized to telomeres in R-loop dependent manner and is essential for telomere maintenance. In the present study, we provide evidence that RNA modification at the N6 position of internal adenosine (m6A) in TERRA RNA by methyl transferase METTL3 is essential for telomere maintenance in ALT cells and loss of TERRA m6A/METTL3 leads to accumulation of DNA damage over telomere. Our data suggest that m6A modification in TERRA RNA is required for R-loop formation and telomere targeting of TERRA. We observed that R-loop enriched TERRA is abundantly m6A modified and m6A mediated recruitment of hnRNPA2B1 to TERRA RNA is essential for R-loop formation. Together our study suggests that m6A-mediated R-loop formation could be a widespread mechanism utilized by other chromatin-interacting lncRNAs. We also show treating ALT positive NB cells with small molecule METTL3 inhibitor leads to compromised telomere targeting of TERRA and accumulation of DNA damage over telomere, suggesting METTL3 inhibition could be a therapeutic opportunity for ALT positive NB.
2023-12-13 | GSE219212 | GEO