TRF2 Mediates Replication Initiation within Human Telomeres to Prevent Telomere Dysfunction

William C. Drosopoulos, Zhong Deng, Shyam Twayana, Settapong T. Kosiyatrakul, Olga Vladimirova, Paul M. Lieberman, Carl L. Schildkraut

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

The telomeric shelterin protein telomeric repeat-binding factor 2 (TRF2) recruits origin recognition complex (ORC) proteins, the foundational building blocks of DNA replication origins, to telomeres. We seek to determine whether TRF2-recruited ORC proteins give rise to functional origins in telomere repeat tracts. We find that reduction of telomeric recruitment of ORC2 by expression of an ORC interaction-defective TRF2 mutant significantly reduces telomeric initiation events in human cells. This reduction in initiation events is accompanied by telomere repeat loss, telomere aberrations and dysfunction. We demonstrate that telomeric origins are activated by induced replication stress to provide a key rescue mechanism for completing compromised telomere replication. Importantly, our studies also indicate that the chromatin remodeler SNF2H promotes telomeric initiation events by providing access for ORC2. Collectively, our findings reveal that active recruitment of ORC by TRF2 leads to formation of functional origins, providing an important mechanism for avoiding telomere dysfunction and rescuing challenged telomere replication.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number108379
JournalCell Reports
Volume33
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 10 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'TRF2 Mediates Replication Initiation within Human Telomeres to Prevent Telomere Dysfunction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this