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  4. The THO complex counteracts TERRA R-loop-mediated telomere fragility in telomerase(+) cells and telomeric recombination in ALT(+) cells
 
research article

The THO complex counteracts TERRA R-loop-mediated telomere fragility in telomerase(+) cells and telomeric recombination in ALT(+) cells

Fernandes, Rita Valador  
•
Lingner, Joachim  
May 29, 2023
Nucleic Acids Research

Telomeres are the nucleoprotein structures at the ends of linear chromosomes. Telomeres are transcribed into long non-coding Telomeric Repeat-Containing RNA (TERRA), whose functions rely on its ability to associate with telomeric chromatin. The conserved THO complex (THOC) was previously identified at human telomeres. It links transcription with RNA processing, decreasing the accumulation of co-transcriptional DNA:RNA hybrids throughout the genome. Here, we explore the role of THOC at human telomeres, as a regulator of TERRA localization to chromosome ends. We show that THOC counteracts TERRA association with telomeres via R-loops formed co-transcriptionally and also post-transcriptionally, in trans. We demonstrate that THOC binds nucleoplasmic TERRA, and that RNaseH1 loss, which increases telomeric R-loops, promotes THOC occupancy at telomeres. Additionally, we show that THOC counteracts lagging and mainly leading strand telomere fragility, suggesting that TERRA R-loops can interfere with replication fork progression. Finally, we observed that THOC suppresses telomeric sister-chromatid exchange and C-circle accumulation in ALT cancer cells, which maintain telomeres by recombination. Altogether, our findings reveal crucial roles of THOC in telomeric homeostasis through the co- and post-transcriptional regulation of TERRA R-loops.

  • Details
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Type
research article
DOI
10.1093/nar/gkad448
Web of Science ID

WOS:000996758400001

Author(s)
Fernandes, Rita Valador  
Lingner, Joachim  
Date Issued

2023-05-29

Publisher

OXFORD UNIV PRESS

Published in
Nucleic Acids Research
Subjects

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

•

repeat-containing rna

•

human trex complex

•

messenger-rna

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transcriptional elongation

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protein complex

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nuclear export

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yeast gene

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length

•

replication

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hpr1

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
UPLIN  
Available on Infoscience
June 19, 2023
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/198320
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