Each of our 46 chromosomes is capped by a telomere – a long stretch of repeated DNA (TTAGG). Telomeres play a key protective function in our cells, and now Dr. In Kwon Chung and colleagues at Yonsei University (Seoul, Korea) and the University of Central Florida reveal a novel mechanism to modulate telomere length.
Their work will be published in the April 1st issue of Genes & Development.
With each round of cell division, telomeres are progressively shortened. In fact, when telomeres reach a "critical length" the cell can no longer multiply. This has lead many scientists to conclude that the erosion of telomeres is a key feature of the aging process, while the aberrant addition to telomere ends (and increased proliferative capacity that this endows) is an integral part of cancer progression.
The mechanisms by which a cell regulates activity at its telomeres (be it positive or negative), is an actively investigated area, with direct implications for understanding aging and cancer.
Telomeres are elongated by an enzyme called Telomerase (hTERT). Telomerase is generally only active in fetal, germ, and cancer cells; it is normally repressed in most somatic (body) cells. This new work by Dr. Chung and colleagues shows how cells keep telomerase activity in check, by identifying a novel protein that tags its key partner for degradation.
Hsp90 is an abundant cellular protein that specifically interacts with hTERT to promote telomere formation. The Hsp90 protein is increased in several tumors and may increase the addition of telomere repeats several-fold. Chung's group has now identified a second protein, called MKRN1 that acts on hTERT to promote its degradation. MKRN1 belongs to a class of proteins called ubiquitin ligases that catalyze the addition of a small protein, called ubiquitin, to mark hTERT for destruction by cellular degradation machinery.