Institute of Biochemistry, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETHZ), 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), School of Life Sciences (SV), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Trends Cell Biol. 2015 Jan;25(1):29-36. doi: 10.1016/j.tcb.2014.08.007. Epub 2014 Sep 23.
Long noncoding telomeric repeat-containing RNAs - TERRAs - are transcribed in a regulated manner from telomeres throughout eukaryotes. TERRA molecules consist of chromosome end-specific subtelomeric sequences and telomeric repeats at their 3' ends. Recent work suggests that TERRA sustains several important functions at chromosome ends. TERRA can regulate telomere length through modulation of exonuclease 1 and telomerase, it may promote recruitment of chromatin modifiers to damaged telomeres and thereby enable DNA end-processing, and it may promote telomere protein composition changes during cell cycle progression. Furthermore, telomere transcription regulates chromosome-end mobility within the nucleus. We review how TERRA, by regulated expression and by providing a molecular scaffold for various protein enzymes, can support a large variety of vital functions.
长非编码端粒重复 RNA（TERRA）在真核生物中从端粒以受调控的方式转录。TERRA 分子由染色体末端特异性的亚端粒序列和 3'端的端粒重复组成。最近的研究表明，TERRA 在染色体末端维持着几种重要的功能。TERRA 通过调节外切酶 1 和端粒酶来调节端粒长度，它可能促进染色质修饰物在受损端粒上的募集，从而使 DNA 末端加工，并可能在细胞周期进程中促进端粒蛋白组成的变化。此外，端粒转录调节核内染色体末端的移动性。我们回顾了 TERRA 通过调节表达和为各种蛋白酶提供分子支架，如何支持多种重要功能。
