Category: Events

Chromosome-end protection is crucial for genome stability, with telomere loops (t-loops) thought to play an important protective role. In most cell types, t-loop stabilization relies on the shelterin protein TRF2, while the regulatory pathways in pluripotent cells remain undefined.

Telomere maintenance is a universal hallmark of cancers to sustain the unlimited proliferative potential. In ~85% of cancers, telomere shortening is mitigated by reactivated telomerase expression while the other ~15% use a recombination-based mechanism, termed Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT).