Hyper Telomere Recombination Accelerates Replicative Senescence and May Promote Premature Aging
Hyper telomere recombination accelerates replicative senescence and may promote premature aging R. Tanner Hagelstroma,b, Krastan B. Blagoevc,d, Laura J. Niedernhofere, Edwin H. Goodwinf, and Susan M. Baileya,1 aDepartment of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1618; bPharmaceutical Genomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85004; cNational Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230; dDepartment of Physics Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom; eDepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine and Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15261; and fKromaTiD Inc., Fort Collins, CO 80524 Edited* by José N. Onuchic, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, and approved August 3, 2010 (received for review May 7, 2010) Werner syndrome and Bloom syndrome result from defects in the cell-cycle arrest known as senescence (12). Most human tissues lack RecQ helicases Werner (WRN) and Bloom (BLM), respectively, and sufficient telomerase activity to maintain telomere length through- display premature aging phenotypes. Similarly, XFE progeroid out life, limiting cell division potential. The majority of cancers syndrome results from defects in the ERCC1-XPF DNA repair endo- circumvent this tumor-suppressor mechanism by reactivating telo- nuclease. To gain insight into the origin of cellular senescence and merase (13), thus removing telomere shortening as a barrier to human aging, we analyzed the dependence of sister chromatid continuous proliferation. In some situations, a recombination- exchange (SCE) frequencies on location [i.e., genomic (G-SCE) vs. telo- based mechanism known as “alternative lengthening of telomeres” meric (T-SCE) DNA] in primary human fibroblasts deficient in WRN, (ALT) maintains telomere length in the absence of telomerase (14).
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