Scientists Make Stunning Discovery, Find New Protein Activity in Telomeres
upstart writes:
Scientists make stunning discovery, find new protein activity in telomeres:
Once thought incapable of encoding proteins due to their simple monotonous repetitions of DNA, tiny telomeres at the tips of our chromosomes seem to hold a potent biological function that's potentially relevant to our understanding of cancer and aging.
Reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UNC School of Medicine researchers Taghreed Al-Turki, Ph.D., and Jack Griffith, Ph.D., made the stunning discovery that telomeres contain genetic information to produce two small proteins, one of which they found is elevated in some human cancer cells, as well as cells from patients suffering from telomere-related defects.
"Based on our research, we think simple blood tests for these proteins could provide a valuable screen for certain cancers and other human diseases," said Griffith, the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. "These tests also could provide a measure of 'telomere health,' because we know telomeres shorten with age."
Telomeres contain a unique DNA sequence consisting of endless repeats of TTAGGG bases that somehow inhibit chromosomes from sticking to each other. Two decades ago, the Griffith laboratory showed that the end of a telomere's DNA loops back on itself to form a tiny circle, thus hiding the end and blocking chromosome-to-chromosome fusions. When cells divide, telomeres shorten, eventually becoming so short that the cell can no longer divide properly, leading to cell death.
[...] "Many questions remain to be answered, but our biggest priority now is developing a simple blood test for these proteins. This could inform us of our biological age and also provide warnings of issues, such as cancer or inflammation."
See also:
Scientists Unlock Secrets of 'Immortal Jellyfish'
Is Ageing a Disease?
Journal information: Al-Turki, Taghreed M. et al, Mammalian telomeric RNA (TERRA) can be translated to produce valine-arginine and glycine-leucine dipeptide repeat proteins, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221529120
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