Scientists have found “clues” for diagnosing cancer in telomeres

Researchers have found that telomeres contain the genetic information to produce two small

proteins. One of them is elevated in some human cancer cells, as well as in cells from patients suffering from diseases caused by telomere defects.

Our research has shown that simple blood tests for these proteins can help diagnose some types of cancer and other diseases.

Jack Griffith, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, study co-author

Scientists have conducted experiments to show howtelomeric DNA can teach the cell to make signaling proteins. They named them VR (valine-arginine) and GL (glycine-leucine). Signal proteins are essentially chemicals that cause a chain reaction of other proteins within cells.

The scientists then chemically synthesized VR and GL,to study their properties using powerful electron and confocal microscopes along with modern biological techniques. It turned out that the VR protein accumulates in some human cancer cells, as well as in the cells of patients suffering from diseases caused by a defect in telomeres.

With age, the amount of VR and GL proteins in ourblood will steadily increase, potentially providing a new biomarker forbiological age, as opposed to chronological. Also, the production of these proteins can provoke inflammation.

Tagrid Al-Turki, postdoctoral fellow at the Griffith Lab, co-author of the study

Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes thatcharacterized by the fact that they are unable to combine with other chromosomes or their fragments. They perform a protective function and contain a unique DNA sequence. When cells divide, telomeres shorten. Eventually, they become so short that the cells can no longer divide properly, causing them to die.

Telomeres were first identified about 80 years agoback. Because of their uniform sequence, they were thought not to code for any proteins, let alone those with important biological functions.

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Cover: The newly discovered VR telomeric protein (green spheres) accumulates in nuclei (blue ovals) in red-stained human osteosarcoma cancer cells.
Source: Griffith Laboratory, UNC Lineberger