title: Mammalian 5' C-rich telomeric overhangs are a mark of recombination-dependent telomere maintenance.
abstract: Recent evidence for 5'-cytosine (C)-rich overhangs at the telomeres of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans provided the impetus to re-examine the end structure of mammalian telomeres. Two-dimensional (2D) gel electrophoresis, single telomere-length analysis (STELA), and strand-specific exonuclease assays revealed the presence of a 5'-C-rich overhang at the telomeres of human and mouse chromosomes. C-overhangs were prominent in G1/S arrested as well as terminally differentiated cells, indicating that they did not represent replication intermediates. C-rich overhangs were far more prevalent in tumor cells engaged in the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway of telomere maintenance, which relies on the homologous recombination (HR) machinery. Transient siRNA-based depletion of the HR-specific proteins RAD51, RAD52, and XRCC3 resulted in changes in C-overhang levels, implicating the involvement of 5'-C-overhangs in the HR-dependent pathway of telomere maintenance.
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Liana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Oganesian
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karlseder
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001482:Base Composition; D002877:Chromosomes, Human / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003596:Cytosine; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D005092:Exonucleases / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D034622:RNA Interference; D051135:Rad51 Recombinase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051721:Rad52 DNA Repair and Recombination Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D016615:Telomere / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C497194:RAD52 protein, human; D051721:Rad52 DNA Repair and Recombination Protein; C110901:X-ray repair cross complementing protein 3; D003596:Cytosine; C495153:RAD51 protein, human; D051135:Rad51 Recombinase; D005092:Exonucleases