Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 31, 2025

Generation of Cancer Cell Clones to Visualize Telomeric Repeat-containing RNA TERRA Expressed from a Single Telomere in Living Cells
Published on: January 17, 2019
TElomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA): Physiological functions and relevance in cancer
Michal Kroupa1,2, Kristyna Tomasova1,2, Miriam Kavec1,3
1Department of the Molecular Biology of Cancer, Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechia.
Abstract:
Telomeres are complex protective structures located at the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. Their purpose is to prevent genomic instability. Research progress in telomere biology during the past decades has identified a network of telomeric transcripts of which the best-studied is TElomeric Repeat-containing RNA (TERRA). TERRA was shown to be important not only for the preservation of telomere homeostasis and genomic stability but also for the expression of hundreds of genes across the human genome. These findings added a new level of complexity to telomere biology. Herein we provide insights on the telomere transcriptome, its relevance for proper telomere function, and its implications in human pathology. We also discuss possible clinical opportunities of exosomal telomere transcripts detection as a biomarker in cancer precision medicine.
Related Concept Videos
Telomeres and Telomerase
Replicative Cell Senescence
lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs
Replication in Eukaryotes
Many Proteins Orchestrate Replication at the Origin
Eukaryotic replication follows many of the same...
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...

