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Telomeres are transcribed into noncoding telomeric repeat-containing RNAs (TERRA), which are essential for telomere maintenance. Deregulation of TERRA transcription impairs telomere metabolism and a role in tumorigenesis has been proposed. Head and neck cancer (HNC) is one of the most frequent cancers worldwide, with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) being the predominant type. Since HNSCC patients are characterized by altered telomere maintenance, a dysfunction in telomere transcription can be hypothesized. In this prospective study, we compared TERRA levels in the tumor and matched normal tissue from 23 HNSCC patients. We then classified patients in two categories according to the level of TERRA expression in the tumor compared to the normal tissue: (1) lower expression in the tumor, (2) higher or similar expression in tumor. A significant proportion of patients in the first group died of the disease within less than 34 months postsurgery, while the majority of patients in the second group were alive and disease-free. Our results highlight a striking correlation between TERRA expression and tumor aggressiveness in HNSCC suggesting that TERRA levels may be proposed as a novel molecular prognostic marker for HNSCC.

Until recently, DNA damage arising from physiological DNA metabolism was considered a detrimental by-product for cells. However, an increasing amount of evidence has shown that DNA damage could have a positive role in transcription activation. In particular, DNA damage has been detected in transcriptional elements following different stimuli. These physiological DNA breaks are thought to be instrumental for the correct expression of genomic loci through different mechanisms. In this regard, although a plethora of methods are available to precisely map transcribed regions and transcription start sites, commonly used techniques for mapping DNA breaks lack sufficient resolution and sensitivity to draw a robust correlation between DNA damage generation and transcription. Recently, however, several methods have been developed to map DNA damage at single-nucleotide resolution, thus providing a new set of tools to correlate DNA damage and transcription. Here, we review how DNA damage can positively regulate transcription initiation, the current techniques for mapping DNA breaks at high resolution, and how these techniques can benefit future studies of DNA damage and transcription.

Centromeres are the sites of kinetochore assembly and spindle fiber attachment and consist of protein-DNA complexes in which the DNA component is typically characterized by the presence of extended arrays of tandem repeats called satellite DNA. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of a 137-bp-long new satellite DNA sequence from the horse genome (EC137), which is also present, even if less abundant, in the domestic donkey, the Grevy's zebra and the Burchelli's zebra. We investigated the chromosomal distribution of the EC137 sequence in these 4 species. Moreover, we analyzed its architectural organization by high-resolution FISH. The position of this sequence with respect to the primary constriction and in relation to the 2 major horse satellite tandem repeats (37cen and 2PI) on horse chromosomes suggests that the new centromeric equine satellite is an accessory DNA element, presumably contributing to the organization of pericentromeric chromatin. FISH on combed DNA fibers reveals that the EC137 satellite is organized in relatively short stretches (2-8 kb) which are strictly intermingled within 37cen or 2PI arrays. This arrangement suggests that interchanges between satellite families are a frequent occurrence in the horse genome.

The longstanding dogma that telomeres, the heterochromatic extremities of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, are transcriptionally silent was overturned by the discovery that DNA-dependent RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcribes telomeric DNA into telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA). Here, we show that CpG dinucleotide-rich DNA islands, shared among multiple human chromosome ends, promote transcription of TERRA molecules. TERRA promoters sustain cellular expression of reporter genes, are located immediately upstream of TERRA transcription start sites, and are bound by active RNAPII in vivo. Finally, the identified promoter CpG dinucleotides are methylated in vivo, and cytosine methylation negatively regulates TERRA abundance. The existence of subtelomeric promoters, driving TERRA transcription from independent chromosome ends, supports the idea that TERRA exerts fundamental functions in the context of telomere biology.

Telomeres are ribonucleoprotein structures at the end of chromosomes composed of telomeric DNA, specific-binding proteins, and noncoding RNA (TERRA). Despite their importance in preventing chromosome instability, little is known about the cross talk between these three elements during the formation of the germ line. Here, we provide evidence that both TERRA and the telomerase enzymatic subunit (TERT) are components of telomeres in mammalian germ cells. We found that TERRA colocalizes with telomeres during mammalian meiosis and that its expression progressively increases during spermatogenesis until the beginning of spermiogenesis. While both TERRA levels and distribution would be regulated in a gender-specific manner, telomere-TERT colocalization appears to be regulated based on species-specific characteristics of the telomeric structure. Moreover, we found that TERT localization at telomeres is maintained throughout spermatogenesis as a structural component without affecting telomere elongation. Our results represent the first evidence of colocalization between telomerase and telomeres during mammalian gametogenesis.

Mammalian telomeres are transcribed into long non-coding telomeric RNA molecules (TERRA) that seem to play a role in the maintenance of telomere stability. In human cells, CpG island promoters drive TERRA transcription and are regulated by methylation. It was suggested that the amount of TERRA may be related to telomere length. To test this hypothesis we measured telomere length and TERRA levels in single clones isolated from five human cell lines: HeLa (cervical carcinoma), BRC-230 (breast cancer), AKG and GK2 (gastric cancers) and GM847 (SV40 immortalized skin fibroblasts). We observed great clonal heterogeneity both in TRF (Terminal Restriction Fragment) length and in TERRA levels. However, these two parameters did not correlate with each other. Moreover, cell survival to γ-rays did not show a significant variation among the clones, suggesting that, in this cellular system, the intra-population variability in telomere length and TERRA levels does not influence sensitivity to ionizing radiation. This conclusion was supported by the observation that in a cell line in which telomeres were greatly elongated by the ectopic expression of telomerase, TERRA expression levels and radiation sensitivity were similar to the parental HeLa cell line.