端粒、端粒酶在动脉粥样硬化中的研究进展CSCD

端粒是真核生物线性染色体末端的DNA重复序列,维持染色体的稳定性和DNA复制的完整性。DNA复制过程中,端粒逐渐缩短达到临界值时,染色体DNA被破坏而发生复制型衰老。端粒酶是催化端粒合成的酶,但在正常体细胞中活性很低。动脉粥样硬化是一种衰老相关性疾病,为冠心病、脑梗死、外周血管病发生发展的病理基础。新近研究发现,在动脉粥样硬化患者体内存在较短的端粒,并且较短的端粒更容易导致动脉粥样硬化。本文主要综述了参与动脉粥样硬化形成过程中细胞端粒长度和端粒酶活性的变化,以及这些变化对动脉粥样硬化形成的影响,并概括了动脉粥样硬化的危险因素与端粒和端粒酶的关系。     

端粒、端粒酶在动脉粥样硬化中的研究进展

端粒是真核生物线性染色体末端的DNA重复序列,维持染色体的稳定性和DNA复制的完整性。DNA复制过程中,端粒逐渐缩短达到临界值时,染色体DNA被破坏而发生复制型衰老。端粒酶是催化端粒合成的酶,但在正常体细胞中活性很低。动脉粥样硬化是一种衰老相关性疾病,为冠心病、脑梗死、外周血管病发生发展的病理基础。新近研究发现,在动脉粥样硬化患者体内存在较短的端粒,并且较短的端粒更容易导致动脉粥样硬化。本文主要综述了参与动脉粥样硬化形成过程中细胞端粒长度和端粒酶活性的变化,以及这些变化对动脉粥样硬化形成的影响,并概括了动脉粥样硬化的危险因素与端粒和端粒酶的关系。     

端粒酶与肿瘤

端粒(telomere)是存在于真核生物线性染色体末端,由串联重复的DNA序列及其相关蛋白所组成的结构。由于能防止染色体的端-端融合、重组和降解,故具有稳定染色体的作用。众所周知,参与真核生物线性DNA复制的DNA聚合酶并不能使染色体DNA完全复制,因而染色体末端的端粒序列在不断分裂的过程中逐渐缩短。当人染色体的末端,又称末端限制片断TPF(terminal restriction fragments),缩短到5—7Kbp时,细胞就会发生衰老,因此,     

端粒保护蛋白TRF2的研究进展

端粒是染色体末端的核蛋白结构。染色体末端重复的端粒DNA可以规避不适当的DNA损伤反应(DNA damage response, DDR)的激活,维持染色体的稳定性,端粒的缺失会引起染色体融合并导致细胞的衰老及死亡。端粒特异性蛋白复合物Shelterin在保护端粒完整性方面具有重要作用。在这个复合体中,端粒结合因子2 (telomeric-repeat binding factor 2, TRF2)在维持端粒稳定、防止端粒染色体末端融合以及端粒染色体复制过程中发挥关键作用。该文综述了TRF2介导的保护染色体末端的多方面的机制。     

DNA端粒控制的解密

维持基因组完整性是每个生物生存的关键 ,端粒保护是维持这一稳定的重要机制之一。体内有多种蛋白复合物共同作用以保证DNA末端不丢失或染色体末端不发生融合。端粒酶和其它一些蛋白在维持端粒的过程中有重要作用 ,这些蛋白如何共同维持端粒的正确长度并在细胞分裂过程中复制端粒是一个复杂的机制。Loayza等发现 ,人体内的POT1是一种与酵母细胞中结合单链端粒DNA蛋白相关的蛋白。POT1分子出现在人染色体的末端 ,而且POT1出现在染色体末端的量与多鸟嘌呤核苷酸单链重复区域多少有关 ,重复区域越多 ,POT1出现的越多。POT1不是完全靠…     

端粒及端粒酶的研究进展

端粒是真核细胞染色体末端的特有结构,是由端粒结合蛋白和一段重复序列的端粒DNA组成的一个高度精密的复合体,在维持染色体末端稳定性,避免染色体被核酸酶降解等方面起着重要的作用。端粒的长度、结构及组织形式受多种端粒结合因子的调控。由于端粒的重要性,在哺乳动物细胞里,端粒的长度或端粒结构变化与癌症发生及细胞衰老有密切的关系。由于末端复制问题的存在,随着细胞分裂次数的增加,端粒不断缩短,细胞不可避免的走向衰老或凋亡。由于在细胞分裂过程中端粒长度的不断缩短与细胞分裂代数增加具有相关性,即端粒长度反应了细胞的分裂次数,因此有人将端粒形象的比喻为生物时钟。在90%的癌细胞中,端粒酶被重新激活,以此来维持端粒的长度,使细胞走向永生化。简要综述了端粒、端粒酶及端粒酶结合蛋白的最新研究进展。     

端粒酶及其抑制剂的研究进展

细胞分裂中染色体因其末端的DNA不能完全复制而短缩,使细胞逐渐失去增殖能力,导致细胞衰老、死亡。端粒酶的活化可延长染色体的末端DNA,维护基因组的稳定。端粒酶活性的异常表达,又会使细胞永生化或转化成癌细胞。因此,端粒酶在控制细胞寿命方面有重要作用,端粒酶活性抑制剂有望成为治疗肿瘤的新药物。     

细胞DNA损伤检控系统在维持端粒稳定中的功能

真核生物的DNA损伤检控系统是维持细胞基因组稳定的一个重要机制,该系统能检测细胞在生命活动过程中出现的DNA损伤并引发细胞周期阻滞,对DNA损伤进行修复,以维持细胞遗传的稳定性。端粒是位于真核细胞染色体末端由重复DNA序列和蛋白质组成的复合物,具有保护染色体、介导染色体复制、引导减数分裂时的同源染色体配对和调节细胞衰老等作用。虽然端粒与DNA双链断裂都具有作为线性染色体末端的共同特点,但正常端粒并不像DNA双链断裂那样激活DNA损伤检控系统。另一方面,端粒又与DNA损伤相似,因为多种DNA损伤检控蛋白在端粒长度稳定中起重要作用。因此DNA损伤检控系统既参与了维持正常端粒的完整性,又可对端粒损伤作出应答。现就DNA损伤检控系统在维持端粒稳定中的作用及其对功能缺陷端粒的应答作一简要综述。     

端粒与端粒酶研究进展

细胞分裂中染色体因其末端（端粒）的DNA不能完全复制而短缩,使细胞逐渐失去增殖能力而衰老．端粒酶可延长染色体末端DNA,端粒酶的活化使细胞无限增殖．85％左右的恶性肿瘤端粒酶表达阳性,生殖细胞和无限繁殖的细胞系中端粒酶表达也呈阳性．文章综述了端粒的构成和功能、端粒酶在端粒合成中的作用,介绍了端粒酶活性的测定方法、细胞恶变与端粒酶激活的关系,并论及通过抑制端粒酶活性来治疗癌症的可能性．     

3-氨基苯酰胺对氧化应激诱导的HeLa细胞端粒DNA链断裂重连接作用的影响

端粒是位于真核细胞染色体末端的DNA-蛋白质复合体,在维持染色体稳定上起着重要的作用,并且与细胞的衰老和凋亡有着密切的关系.在各种DNA损伤中,单链断裂(single-strand breaks, SSBs)是最常见的类型之一,既可直接通过内源活性氧或离子化辐射产生,也可间接地在DNA代谢或碱基切除修复期间产生.已知多聚(ADP-核糖)聚合酶［poly(ADPribose) polymerase, PARP］在SSBs修复中起着极为重要的作用.本实验观察了PARP抑制剂3-氨基苯酰胺(3-aminobenzamide, 3-AB)对氧化应激诱导的HeLa细胞端粒DNA链断裂重连接的效应以及对过氧化氢(H2O2)抑制HeLa细胞增殖的影响.结果表明3-AB能够显著地抑制氧化应激诱导的HeLa细胞端粒DNA链断裂后的重连接作用,并能增强H2O2对HeLa细胞增殖的抑制作用,提示PARP参与了端粒DNA链断裂损伤的修复过程.     

Accumulation of single-strand breaks is the major cause of telomere shortening in human fibroblasts

Telomere shortening triggers replicative senescence in human fibroblasts. The inability of DNA polymerases to replicate a linear DNA molecule completely (the end replication problem) is one cause of telomere shortening. Other possible causes are the formation of single-stranded overhangs at the end of telomeres and the preferential vulnerability of telomeres to oxidative stress. To elucidate the relative importance of these possibilities, amount and distribution of telomeric single-strand breaks, length of the G-rich overhang, and telomere shortening rate in human MRC-5 fibroblasts were measured. Treatment of nonproliferating cells with hydrogen peroxide increases the sensitivity to S1 nuclease in telomeres preferentially and accelerates their shortening by a corresponding amount as soon as the cells proliferate. A reduction of the activity of intracellular peroxides using the spin trap alpha-phenyl-t-butyl-nitrone reduces the telomere shortening rate and increases the replicative life span. The length of the telomeric single-stranded overhang is independent of DNA damaging stresses, but single-strand breaks accumulate randomly all along the telomere after alkylation. The telomere shortening rate and the rate of replicative aging can be either accelerated or decelerated by a modification of the amount of oxidative stress. Quantitatively, stress-mediated telomere damage contributes most to telomere shortening under standard conditions.     

Stochastic mechanism of cellular aging--abrupt telomere shortening as a model for stochastic nature of cellular aging

A strong stochastic component has been described for the appearance of senescent cells in cultures that have not completed their in vitro lifespan. The proliferative potential of individual clones show a bimodal distribution. Additionally, two cells arising from a single mitotic event can exhibit large differences in their doubling capacities. In this report we present a model and a computer simulation of the model that explains the observed stochastic phenomena. The model is based on both gradual and abrupt telomere shortening.Gradual telomere shortening (GTS) occurs during each cell division as a consequence of the inability of DNA polymerase to replicate the very ends of chromosomal DNA. It is responsible for the gradual decline in proliferative potential of a cell culture, but does not explain the stochastic aspects of cellular aging. Abrupt telomere shortening (ATS) occurs either through DNA recombination or nuclease digestion at the subtelomeric/telomeric border region of the chromosome. Recombination involves the invasion of a telomere single-strand three-prime protruding end at this border in the telomere of the same chromosome or in another subtelomeric/telomeric region. Shortening of one or more telomeres in the cell causes a sudden onset of cell senescence, referred to as sudden senescence syndrome (SSS). This is manifested as a stochastic and abrupt transition of cells from the larger to the smaller proliferative potential pool and can cause cell cycle arrest within one cell division. The computer simulation matches well with experimental data supporting the prediction that abrupt telomere shortening underlies the stochastic onset of cell senescence. Sudden senescence syndrome appears to be the most important mechanism in the control of the extent of proliferation of a cell culture because it prevents virtually every cell in the culture from reaching its maximum doubling capacity, that would otherwise be allowed by telomere shortening via the end-replication mechanism alone.     

DNA damage in telomeres and mitochondria during cellular senescence: is there a connection?

Cellular senescence is the ultimate and irreversible loss of replicative capacity occurring in primary somatic cell culture. It is triggered as a stereotypic response to unrepaired nuclear DNA damage or to uncapped telomeres. In addition to a direct role of nuclear DNA double-strand breaks as inducer of a DNA damage response, two more subtle types of DNA damage induced by physiological levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can have a significant impact on cellular senescence: Firstly, it has been established that telomere shortening, which is the major contributor to telomere uncapping, is stress dependent and largely caused by a telomere-specific DNA single-strand break repair inefficiency. Secondly, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage is closely interrelated with mitochondrial ROS production, and this might also play a causal role for cellular senescence. Improvement of mitochondrial function results in less telomeric damage and slower telomere shortening, while telomere-dependent growth arrest is associated with increased mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, telomerase, the enzyme complex that is known to re-elongate shortened telomeres, also appears to have functions independent of telomeres that protect against oxidative stress. Together, these data suggest a self-amplifying cycle between mitochondrial and telomeric DNA damage during cellular senescence.     

Modelling cellular senescence as a result of telomere state

Telomeres in mammalian cells end in large duplex T loops. These loops protect the single-strand overhangs from degradation and/or interactions with signalling proteins. This protection is sometimes referred to as capping. At each cell division, telomeres shorten and there is a general consensus that telomere shortening triggers cell cycle exit. However, the exact mechanism by which telomere shortening causes cell cycle arrest is not known. Mathematical models of telomere shortening have been developed to help us understand the processes involved. Until now most models have assumed that the trigger for cell cycle arrest is the first telomere or a group of telomeres reaching a critically short length. However, there is evidence that cells stop cycling over a wide range of telomere lengths. This suggests that telomere length per se may not in fact be the trigger for cellular senescence. In this paper we develop a model which examines the hypothesis that uncapping of a telomere is the main trigger. By letting the probability of uncapping depend upon telomere length, we show that the hypothesized model provides a good fit to experimental data.     

Mammalian DNA single-strand break repair: an X-ra(y)ted affair

The genetic stability of living cells is continuously threatened by the presence of endogenous reactive oxygen species and other genotoxic molecules. Of particular threat are the thousands of DNA single-strand breaks that arise in each cell, each day, both directly from disintegration of damaged sugars and indirectly from the excision repair of damaged bases. If un-repaired, single-strand breaks can be converted into double-strand breaks during DNA replication, potentially resulting in chromosomal rearrangement and genetic deletion. Consequently, cells have adopted multiple pathways to ensure the rapid and efficient removal of single-strand breaks. A general feature of these pathways appears to be the extensive employment of protein-protein interactions to stimulate both the individual component steps and the overall repair reaction. Our current understanding of DNA single-strand break repair is discussed, and testable models for the architectural coordination of this important process are presented.     

Bacterial DNA repair genes and their eukaryotic homologues: 5. The role of recombination in DNA repair and genome stability

Recombinational repair is a well conserved DNA repair mechanism present in all living organisms. Repair by homologous recombination is generally accurate as it uses undamaged homologous DNA molecule as a repair template. In Escherichia coli homologous recombination repairs both the double-strand breaks and single-strand gaps in DNA. DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) can be induced upon exposure to exogenous sources such as ionizing radiation or endogenous DNA-damaging agents including reactive oxygen species (ROS) as well as during natural biological processes like conjugation. However, the bulk of double strand breaks are formed during replication fork collapse encountering an unrepaired single strand gap in DNA. Under such circumstances DNA replication on the damaged template can be resumed only if supported by homologous recombination. This functional cooperation of homologous recombination with replication machinery enables successful completion of genome duplication and faithful transmission of genetic material to a daughter cell. In eukaryotes, homologous recombination is also involved in essential biological processes such as preservation of genome integrity, DNA damage checkpoint activation, DNA damage repair, DNA replication, mating type switching, transposition, immune system development and meiosis. When unregulated, recombination can lead to genome instability and carcinogenesis.     

Cell-cycle-dependent telomere elongation by telomerase in budding yeast

Telomeres are essential for the stability and complete replication of linear chromosomes. Telomere elongation by telomerase counteracts the telomere shortening due to the incomplete replication of chromosome ends by DNA polymerase. Telomere elongation is cell-cycle-regulated and coupled to DNA replication during S-phase. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie such cell-cycle-dependent telomere elongation by telomerase remain largely unknown. Several aspects of telomere replication in budding yeast, including the modulation of telomere chromatin structure, telomere end processing, recruitment of telomere-binding proteins and telomerase complex to telomere as well as the coupling of DNA replication to telomere elongation during cell cycle progression will be discussed, and the potential roles of Cdk (cyclin-dependent kinase) in these processes will be illustrated.     

Telomere instability and cancer

Telomeres are required to preserve genome integrity, chromosome stability, nuclear architecture and chromosome pairing during meiosis. Given that telomerase activity is limiting or absent in most somatic tissues, shortening of telomeres during development and aging is the rule. In vitro, telomere length operates as a mechanism to prevent uncontrolled cell growth and therefore defines the proliferation potential of a cell. In vitro, in somatic cells that have lost proliferation control, shortening of telomeres becomes the main source of genome instability leading to genetic or epigenetic changes that may allow cells to become immortal and to acquire tumor phenotypes. In vivo, mice models have indisputably shown both the protective and the promoting role of very short telomeres in cancer development. In humans, although telomere shortening and other types of telomere dysfunction probably contribute to the genome instability often detected in tumors, the specific contributions of such instability to the development of cancer remain largely undetermined.     

Budding yeast Rap1, but not telomeric DNA,is inhibitory for multiple stages of DNA replication in vitro

Telomeres are copied and reassembled each cell division cycle through a multistep process called telomere replication. Most telomeric DNA is duplicated semiconservatively during this process, but replication forks frequently pause or stall at telomeres in yeast, mouse and human cells, potentially causing chronic telomere shortening or loss in a single cell cycle. We have investigated the cause of this effect by examining the replication of telomeric templates in vitro. Using a reconstituted assay for eukaryotic DNA replication in which a complete eukaryotic replisome is assembled and activated with purified proteins, we show that budding yeast telomeric DNA is efficiently duplicated in vitro unless the telomere binding protein Rap1 is present. Rap1 acts as a roadblock that prevents replisome progression and leading strand synthesis, but also potently inhibits lagging strand telomere replication behind the fork. Both defects can be mitigated by the Pif1 helicase. Our results suggest that GC-rich sequences do not inhibit DNA replication per se, and that in the absence of accessory factors, telomere binding proteins can inhibit multiple, distinct steps in the replication process.