The role of microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) at dysfunctional telomeres Journal Article
| Authors: | Billing, D.; Sfeir, A. |
| Article Title: | The role of microhomology-mediated end joining (MMEJ) at dysfunctional telomeres |
| Abstract: | DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways are crucial for maintaining genome stability and cell viability. However, these pathways can mistakenly recognize chromosome ends as DNA breaks, leading to adverse outcomes such as telomere fusions and malignant transfor-mation. The shelterin complex protects telomeres from activation of DNA repair pathways by inhibiting nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), homologous recombination (HR), and micro-homology-mediated end joining (MMEJ). The focus of this paper is on MMEJ, an error-prone DSB repair pathway characterized by short insertions and deletions flanked by sequence homology. MMEJ is critical in mediating telomere fusions in cells lacking the shelterin complex and at critically short telomeres. Furthermore, studies suggest that MMEJ is the preferred pathway for repairing intratelomeric DSBs and facilitates escape from telomere crisis. Targeting MMEJ to prevent telomere fusions in hematologic malignancies is of potential therapeutic value. © 2025 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved;. |
| Keywords: | telomere; animal; metabolism; animals; dna breaks, double-stranded; double stranded dna break; dna end-joining repair; dna end joining repair; humans; human |
| Journal Title: | Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology |
| Volume: | 17 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| ISSN: | 1943-0264 |
| Publisher: | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press |
| Date Published: | 2025-02-01 |
| Start Page: | a041687 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1101/cshperspect.a041687 |
| PUBMED: | 39500624 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| PMCID: | PMC11864110 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Article -- Source: Scopus |
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