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G-quadruplexes mark alternative lengthening of telomeres
NAR Cancer. 2021 Jul 21;3(3):zcab031. doi: 10.1093/narcan/zcab031.
Sunny Y Yang 1, Emily Y C Chang 2, Joanne Lim 1, Harwood H Kwan 1, David Monchaud 3, Stephen Yip 4, Peter C Stirling 2, Judy M Y Wong 1
Abstract:
...While implicated in previous studies as the initiating signals for ALT telomere repair, the prevalence of non-canonical nucleic acid structures in ALT cancers remains unclear. Extending earlier reports, we observe higher levels of DNA/RNA hybrids (R-loops) in ALT-positive (ALT+) compared to telomerase-positive (TERT+) cells. Strikingly, we observe even more pronounced differences for an associated four-stranded nucleic acid structure, G-quadruplex (G4). G4 signals are found at the telomere and are broadly associated with telomere length and accompanied by DNA damage markers. We establish an interdependent relationship between ALT-associated G4s and R-loops and confirm that these two structures can be spatially linked into unique structures, G-loops, at the telomere. Additionally, stabilization of G4s and R-loops cooperatively enhances ALT-activity. However, co-stabilization at higher doses resulted in cytotoxicity in a synergistic manner. Nuclear G4 signals are significantly and reproducibly different between ALT+ and TERT+ low-grade glioma tumours. Together, we present G4 as a novel hallmark of ALT cancers with potential future applications as a convenient biomarker for identifying ALT+ tumours and as therapeutic targets.
PMID: 34316718
Free Full-Text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8294677/
Tags: ALT, G-quadruplexes