NIH R01 · 2025
Telomere uncapping epigenetically reprograms a stress response and longevity pathway
Summary Interstitial Telomere Sequences (ITS tracts) are degenerate telomere repeat tracts found on metazoan chromosome arms whose functional significance is not known. We propose to develop a new paradigm in the field of telomere biology, by demonstrating a telomere binding protein in somatic cells regulates a suite of stress response and longevity genes that possess introns with ITS tracts. We discovered that ITS tracts are enriched in the introns of C. elegans genes, and this is also true in humans. We identified hundreds of C. elegans genes with ITS tracts that are bound by a telomere binding protein. The vast majority of these genes are upregulated in response to environmental stresses…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.