Mechanisms of Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres

In recent years, significant advances have been made in understanding the intricate details of the mechanisms underlying alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Studies of a specialized DNA strand break repair mechanism, known as break-induced replication, and the advent of telomere-specific DNA...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology Vol. 17; no. 1; p. a041690
Main Authors O'Sullivan, Roderick J., Greenberg, Roger A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 01.01.2025
Subjects
Animals
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA biosynthesis
DNA Damage
DNA Repair
DNA Replication
Homologous recombination
Homology
Humans
Networks
Proteomics
Synthesis
Telomere - metabolism
Telomere Homeostasis
Telomeres
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Summary:In recent years, significant advances have been made in understanding the intricate details of the mechanisms underlying alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Studies of a specialized DNA strand break repair mechanism, known as break-induced replication, and the advent of telomere-specific DNA damaging strategies and proteomic methodologies to profile the ribonucleoprotein composition of telomeres enabled the discovery of networks of proteins that coordinate the stepwise homology-directed DNA repair and DNA synthesis processes of ALT. These networks couple mediators of homologous recombination, DNA template-switching, long-range template-directed DNA synthesis, and DNA strand resolution with SUMO-dependent liquid condensate formation to create discrete nuclear bodies where telomere extension occurs. This review will discuss the recent findings of how these networks may cooperate to mediate telomere extension by the ALT mechanism and their impact on telomere function and integrity in ALT cancer cells.
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ISSN:1943-0264
1943-0264
DOI:10.1101/cshperspect.a041690