ArticleBMC genomics2025
Leishmania mexicana telomeres at high resolution: Ku80, TERT, and alternative lengthening mechanisms.
Article in BMC genomics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTelomeres are known to be important for Leishmania biology but the mechanistic of how the process of telomere maintenance contributes to genome stability remains an unanswered question. Their maintenance is most commonly facilitated by the telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex that elongates telomeres countering their natural shortening due to the incomplete DNA replication in each cell cycle. In some organisms, telomere maintenance is achieved through telomerase-independent mechanisms, such as the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathways described in yeasts with dysfunctional telomerase and some rare telomerase-negative human cancer cells. Molecular markers for the ALT pathway include presence of the heterogeneous (in their length and sequence) telomeres, high level of telomeric exchange between the sister chromatids, increased expression of Rad51 and associated proteins, and occurrence of extrachromosomal telomeric repeats that can be present in either linear or circular form.
resultsHere, we used third-generation sequencing techniques in combination with other approaches and analyzed telomeres of L. mexicana at unprecedented high-level resolution. We demonstrate that Ku80 ablation-driven telomere elongation varies between chromosomes, possibly due to the chromosome-specific recombination rates, which are sequence/content dependent and associated with the structure of the telomeric tandemly repeated sequence, TTAGGG. Moreover, this telomere length heterogeneity is accompanied by an increased level of C-circles, a subclass of circular telomeric DNA highly specific for ALT activity.
conclusionsOur findings underscore that L. mexicana promastigotes have an inherent ability to utilize ALT, and the loss of Ku80 and/or TERT further enhanced this trait. These proteins work together to maintain telomere integrity, inhibit recombination, and stabilize telomere lengths. Our data suggest that ALT may be a fundamental and readily activated feature of Leishmania biology, and that telomere regulation in this organism significantly differs from what has been observed in other eukaryotic model species, including iconic T. brucei.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.