Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31454099›Full record

ArticleThe EMBO journal2019

ATRX loss induces telomere dysfunction and necessitates induction of alternative lengthening of telomeres during human cell immortalization.

Fei Li, Zhong Deng, Ling Zhang, Caizhi Wu, Ying Jin, Inah Hwang, Olga Vladimirova, Libo Xu, Lynnie Yang, Bin Lu and 9 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The EMBO journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
85citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.0field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

85 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 121 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Review
  4. Article
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  9. Article
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  11. Telomere Crisis Shapes Cancer Evolution.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology · 2026
    Review
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  14. Review
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  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Targeting WEE1 Kinase for Breast Cancer Therapeutics: An Update.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review

25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

Fei LiDepartment of Neurosurgery, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, China.ORCID 0000-0002-7818-6525
Zhong DengThe Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Ling ZhangCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Caizhi WuCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2449-2818
Ying JinCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Inah HwangDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Olga VladimirovaThe Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Libo XuCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Lynnie YangCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Bin LuCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Javaraju DheekolluThe Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Jian-Yi LiDepartment of Pathology and Lab Medicine, North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Northwell Health, Lake Success, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA.
Hua FengDepartment of Neurosurgery, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, China.
Jian HuDepartment of Cancer Biology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Christopher R VakocCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
Haoqiang YingDepartment of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Jihye PaikDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5481-2202
Paul M LiebermanThe Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3935-9921
Hongwu ZhengCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9781-7935
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · USThe Wistar Institute · USCornell University · USThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center · USNorthwell Health · USSouthwest Hospital · CN

Funding

Single-Cell Biology Shared ResourceP30CA045508 · NCI · COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY · PI John Edward Moses · 1987 to 2026
$118.9M
VIRAL TRANSACTIVATIONP01CA013106 · NCI · COLD SPRING HARBOR LABORATORY · PI William Richard McCombie · 1985 to 2026
$116.8M
Tumor Microenvironment and MetastasisP30CA010815 · NCI · WISTAR INSTITUTE · PI Luis J Montaner · 1985 to 2026
$75.9M
Role of TERRA in Telomere Maintenance and Telomere Stress ResponseR01CA140652 · NCI · WISTAR INSTITUTE · PI LIEBERMAN, PAUL M. · 2010 to 2025
$6.0M
The Mechanisms Underlying How Oxidative Stress Influences Neural Stem Cell FateR01AG048284 · NIA · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · PI PAIK, JIHYE · 2014 to 2018
$1.7M
NCI NIH HHS P01 CA013106NCI NIH HHS P30 CA010815NCI NIH HHS P30 CA045508NCI NIH HHS R01 CA140652NIA NIH HHS R01 AG048284Worldwide Cancer Research 15-0338
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Loss of the histone H3.3-specific chaperone component ATRX or its partner DAXX frequently occurs in human cancers that employ alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) for chromosomal end protection, yet the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we report that ATRX/DAXX does not serve as an immediate repressive switch for ALT. Instead, ATRX or DAXX depletion gradually induces telomere DNA replication dysfunction that activates not only homology-directed DNA repair responses but also cell cycle checkpoint control. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that this process is contingent on ATRX/DAXX histone chaperone function, independently of telomere length. Combined ATAC-seq and telomere chromatin immunoprecipitation studies reveal that ATRX loss provokes progressive telomere decondensation that culminates in the inception of persistent telomere replication dysfunction. We further show that endogenous telomerase activity cannot overcome telomere dysfunction induced by ATRX loss, leaving telomere repair-based ALT as the only viable mechanism for telomere maintenance during immortalization. Together, these findings implicate ALT activation as an adaptive response to ATRX/DAXX loss-induced telomere replication dysfunction.

Indexed as

Telomere HomeostasisCell LineCo-Repressor ProteinsDNA RepairGene DeletionHEK293 CellsHumansMolecular ChaperonesTelomeraseTelomereX-linked Nuclear ProteinATRX protein, humanCo-Repressor ProteinsDAXX protein, humanMolecular ChaperonesTelomeraseTERT protein, humanX-linked Nuclear ProteinALTATRX/DAXXDNA damageimmortalizationtelomere

Identifiers

PMID31454099
PMCPMC6769380
OpenAlexW2970657071

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.