PUBLICATION

TERT distal promoter GC islands are critical for telomerase and together with DNMT3B silencing may serve as a senescence-inducing agent in gliomas

Authors
?erifo?lu, N., Erbaba, B., Adams, M.M., Arslan-Ergül, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-220824-32
Date
2022
Source
Journal of neurogenetics   36(4): 89-97 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
DNA methylation, TERT promoter, Telomere, brain cancer, telomerase
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Glioma*/genetics
  • Doxorubicin
  • Zebrafish
  • DNA Methylation
  • Telomerase*/genetics
  • Telomerase*/metabolism
  • Azacitidine/metabolism
PubMed
35997487 Full text @ J. Neurogenet.
Abstract
Telomerase is reactivated in the majority of cancers. For instance, in gliomas, it is common that the TERT promoter is mutated. Research on telomere promoter GC islands have been focused primarily on proximal TERT promoter but little is known about the distal promoter. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the proximal and distal TERT promoter, in terms of DNA methylation. We did bisulfite sequencing in zebrafish tissue samples for the distal tert promoter. In the zebrafish brain tissues, we identified a hypomethylation site in the tert promoter, and found that this hypomethylation was associated with aging and shortened telomeres. Through site directed mutagenesis in glioma cell lines, we changed 10 GC spots individually, cloned into a reporter vector, and measured promoter activity. Finally, we silenced DNMT3B and measured telomerase activity along with vidaza and adriamycin treatments. Site directed mutagenesis of glioma cell lines revealed that each of the 10 GC spots are critical for telomerase activity. Changing GC to AT abolished promoter activity in all spots when transfected into glioma cell lines. Then, through silencing of DNMT3B, we observed a reduction in hTERT expression levels, while hTR remained the same, and a major increase in senescence-associated beta-galactosidase activity. Finally, we propose a model regarding the efficacy of two chemotherapeutic drugs, adriamycin and azacytidine, on gliomas. Here, we show that distal TERT promoter is critical; changing even one GC to AT abolishes TERT promoter activity. DNMT3B, a de novo methyltransferase, together with GC islands in distal TERT promoter plays an important role in regulation of telomerase expression and senescence.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping