Mammalian telomeres are transcribed into long non-coding telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA) molecules 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 leng...

Telomeres, the physical ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, consist of tandem arrays of short DNA repeats and a large set of specialized proteins. A recent analysis has identified telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA), a large non-coding RNA in animals and fungi, which forms an integral component of telomeric heterochromatin. TERRA transcription occurs at most or all chromosome ends and it is reg...

Model-Driven Development (MDD) based on the concepts of model, metamodel, and model transformation is an approach to develop predictable and reliable software for Cyber-Phsical Systems (CPS). The work presented here is on a methodology to design simulation software based on MDD techniques, supporting the TERRA tool suite to describe and simulate process communication flows. TERRA is implemented...

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the reasons of infertility in women with chronic anovulation. Ovulation process is tightly regulated by molecular mechanisms controlling proliferation/differentiation of cells. Telomeres, TTAGGG tandem repeats, are transcribed into a non coding RNA, named TERRA. Recent studies suggest that TERRA sustain several important functions at chromos...

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. Sinc...

Introduction: Tyrrhena Terra is located in cratered and dissected Noachian terrains in the southern hemisphere [1] south of Isidia Planitia and north of Hellas basin. Tyrrhena Terra contains both highlands and a series of intercrater plains. In this region, many outcrops of phyllosilicates are observed by OMEGA spectrometer on many craters walls or ejecta [2, 3]. Several plains in Tyrrhena Terr...

The ends of linear genomes, whether viral or cellular, can elicit potent DNA damage and innate immune signals. DNA viruses entering the nucleus share many features with telomeres in their ability to either suppress or co-opt these pathways. Here, we review some of the common mechanisms that viruses and telomeres use to manage the DNA damage and innate immune response pathways. We highlight rece...

In investigating the binding interactions between the human telomeric RNA (TERRA) G-quadruplex (GQ) and its ligands, it was found that the small molecule carboxypyridostatin (cPDS) and the GQ-selective antibody BG4 simultaneously bind the TERRA GQ. We previously showed that the overall binding affinity of BG4 for RNA GQs is not significantly affected in the presence of cPDS. However, single-mol...

RNA is a recent target for bioimaging studies. Subcellular localization of particular RNAs has been investigated and the dynamics of them have been partially revealed. We recently developed protein-based RNA probes using an RNA-binding domain PUM-HD, and succeeded in visualization of single molecule motion of β-actin mRNA in living cells [1, 2]. In this study, we created a fluorescent probe for...

Telomerase-mediated telomere elongation provides cell populations with the ability to proliferate indefinitely. Telomerase is capable of recognizing and extending the shortest telomeres in cells; nevertheless, how this mechanism is executed remains unclear. Here, we show that, in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, shortened telomeres are highly transcribed into the evolutionarily cons...