Non-canonical Roles of Canonical Telomere Binding Proteins in Cancers

Overview

Journal Cell Mol Life Sci

Publisher Springer

Specialty Biology

Date 2021 Feb 18

PMID 33599797

Citations 19

Authors

Semih Can Akincilar

Claire Hian Tzer Chan

Qin Feng Ng

Kerem Fidan

Vinay Tergaonkar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Reactivation of telomerase is a major hallmark observed in 90% of all cancers. Yet paradoxically, enhanced telomerase activity does not correlate with telomere length and cancers often possess short telomeres; suggestive of supplementary non-canonical roles that telomerase might play in the development of cancer. Moreover, studies have shown that aberrant expression of shelterin proteins coupled with their release from shortening telomeres can further promote cancer by mechanisms independent of their telomeric role. While targeting telomerase activity appears to be an attractive therapeutic option, this approach has failed in clinical trials due to undesirable cytotoxic effects on stem cells. To circumvent this concern, an alternative strategy could be to target the molecules involved in the non-canonical functions of telomeric proteins. In this review, we will focus on emerging evidence that has demonstrated the non-canonical roles of telomeric proteins and their impact on tumorigenesis. Furthermore, we aim to address current knowledge gaps in telomeric protein functions and propose future research approaches that can be undertaken to achieve this.

Citing Articles

Canonical and non-canonical functions of the non-coding RNA component (TERC) of telomerase complex.

Cao C, Gong W, Shuai Y, Rasouli S, Ge Q, Khan A Cell Biosci. 2025; 15(1):30.

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Combatting cellular immortality in cancers by targeting the shelterin protein complex.

Chakraborty S, Banerjee S Biol Direct. 2024; 19(1):120.

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