Translating the telomeres

Mariarosaria De Rosa; Patricia L Opresko

doi:10.1016/j.tig.2023.04.009

Translating the telomeres

Trends Genet. 2023 Aug;39(8):593-595. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.04.009. Epub 2023 May 12.

Authors

Mariarosaria De Rosa¹, Patricia L Opresko²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
² Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Electronic address: plo4@pitt.edu.

PMID: 37179160
DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2023.04.009

Abstract

Telomeres are transcribed into long noncoding telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA). Or so we thought. Recently, Al-Turki and Griffith provided evidence that TERRA can code for valine-arginine (VR) or glycine-leucine (GL) dipeptide repeat proteins by undergoing repeat-associated non-ATG (RAN) translation. This finding uncovers a new mechanism by which telomeres can impact cellular function.

Keywords: RAN translation; TERRA; telomeres.

MeSH terms

RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics
Telomere / genetics
Telomere / metabolism

Substances

RNA, Long Noncoding