Closing the feedback loop: how cells "count" telomere-bound proteins.
Telomere length homeostasis is thought to occur via a "protein-counting" mechanism whereby high numbers of telomere-bound proteins inhibit telomerase activity. In a recent issue of Molecular Cell, Hirano et al. (2009) delineate the molecular interactions that underlie the budding yeast protein-counting machinery.
Lue
Neal F
NF
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, W.R. Hearst Microbiology Research Center, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA. nflue@med.cornell.edu
D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000378:metabolism*; D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D034501:Telomere-Binding Proteins; D019098:Telomerase