Telomeres and telomerase: revealing the end game.

Authors

Julieta Rivosecchi, Guanhui Wu, Thomas R Cech

Published in

Trends in biochemical sciences. Aug 13, 2026. Epub Aug 13, 2026.

Abstract

Because eukaryotic chromosomes are composed of linear DNA molecules, specialized mechanisms are required to ensure their protection and replication. Telomeres, consisting of multiple repeats of a simple DNA sequence and associated proteins, cap these chromosome ends. Telomeric DNA replication requires telomerase, a reverse transcriptase with an intrinsic RNA subunit that provides a template for synthesizing the DNA repeats. New technologies, including cryogenic electron microscopy and long-read DNA sequencing, have provided insights into telomere biology that motivate this review. Furthermore, mutations that impair the machinery responsible for the replication and protection of telomeres lead to telomere biology disorders, and activation of telomerase is a driver of diverse cancers. In this review, we describe how basic science is now informing therapeutic approaches to these diseases.

PMID:
42595660
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 14 Aug 2026.

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