Advances in Telomeres and Interstitial Telomeric Sequences
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 362
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Telomeres are nucleoprotein structures protecting ends of chromosomes from degradation and end-to-end fusions. Telomeres play an essential role in many aspects of cell metabolism. For example, they are one of the key regulators of cell proliferation potential, and their length correlates inversely with age in somatic cells. The maintenance of telomeres is essential for actively dividing cells. It is known that the length of telomeres can be maintained via telomerase, or via mechanisms independent of the action of telomerase, which are called alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). The activation of telomerase, or ALT, is a prerequisite for cancer development. Microsatellite TTAGGG repeats are the building blocks of telomeres in vertebrates. Interestingly, tracts of telomeric repeats are not found exclusively at the ends of chromosomes. In fact, they are present in multiple internal sites of chromosomes in many species, including humans. Such sequences are called interstitial telomeric sequences (ITSs). The functions of ITSs in the genome are still enigmatic. They are thought to be involved in interactions with telomeres and shape the 3D genome structure. Such sequences are unstable and may stimulate mutagenesis, provoke chromosomal rearrangements, and undergo spontaneous length alterations (contractions and expansions).
This Special Issue focuses (i) on the role that telomeres and ITSs play in the organization, stability, and evolution of the genome in normal and pathological conditions, as well as (ii) on various aspects of the maintenance and dynamics of telomeric sequences (at both telomeres and internal chromosomal sites).
Dr. Anna Y Aksenova
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- telomeres
- telomerase
- interstitial telomeric sequences
- alternative lengthening of telomeres
- genome instability
- aging
- cancer
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