telomeres in green
Image by Claus Azzalin
New research has revealed a direct link between telomere degeneration and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
“MDS risk correlates with advancing age, therapy-induced DNA damage, and/or shorter telomeres, but whether telomere erosion directly causes MDS is unknown,” said Simona Colla, PhD, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
“Our study provided genetic evidence that DNA damage caused by telomere loss is linked to this disorder.”
Dr Colla and her colleagues described this study in Cancer Cell.
The team’s in vitro and in vivo work showed that DNA damage caused by dysfunctional telomeres resulted in repressed expression of the gene SRSF2.
SRSF2 is an RNA splicing gene that plays a role in cellular processes. This change impacted common myeloid progenitors (CMPs), affecting their ability to differentiate or fully mature.
“This study established an intimate link across telomere biology, aberrant RNA splicing, and CMP differentiation,” said Ron DiPinho, MD, also of the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“This may suggest that strategies to mitigate this DNA damage may be useful for preventing and/or treating MDS.”
Dr Colla added that the researchers’ findings “were consistent with long-standing observations that poor prognosis in MDS correlates strongly with short telomeres and elevated DNA damage in CMP cells.”
“This improved understanding should provide highly specific risk biomarkers for preventing and treating this incurable disease,” she said.
