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Telomeres and Telomerase:
The Means to the End
Elizabeth H. BlackburnNobel Lecture 2009Karolinska Institutet
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Maize breeding
Mayan corn god
- cytogenetics- chromosome discoveries
Ancient….
…. modern
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Barbara McClintock
end partTelo-mere(tel’uh mer or te lō mēr)
- named by Hermann Muller
Cold Spring Harbor, 1947
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Common Shoelace, 10x.
ag·let (ag’lit) n. A tag or sheath,as of plastic, on the end of a lace,cord, or ribbon to facilitateits passing through eyelet holes.
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Pond scum(a.k.a. Tetrahymena thermophila)
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Photographed in Prague, 1999,demonstrating an optical principle by which a partial solar eclipse can be viewed.
Joe Gall
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Tetrahymena thermophila
- Contains abundant very short linear chromosomes
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Beginning to piece together the first telomericDNA sequence…
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… and data that the telomericDNA repeat unit was tandemly repeated
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- Contains abundant very short linear chromosomes
-They end in TTGGGG repeats.
Tetrahymena thermophila
Blackburn and Gall, 1978
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Blackburn and Gall, 1978
Szostak and Blackburn 1982; Shampay, Szostak and Blackburn 1984
Chromosome with centromere
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- Contains abundant very short linear chromosomes
-They end in TTGGGG repeats.
- How did the repeats get there?
Tetrahymena thermophila
Blackburn and Gall, 1978
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•Telomeric GGGGTT repeat tracts on minichromosomes in a ciliate were heterogeneous in numbers. Blackburn and Gall, 1978
•Telomeric GGGGTT repeat tract DNA was found added to various sequences in ciliate minichromosomes as a result of new telomeres forming on chromosomes, during development of the somatic nucleus. Blackburn et al, 1982
•Telomeric DNA gradually grew longer as trypanosome cells multiplied. Bernards et al, 1983
•Yeast telomeric TG1-3 repeat DNA was added directly to the ends of Tetrahymena T2G2 repeat telomeres maintained in yeast.Szostak and Blackburn 1982; Shampay, Szostak and Blackburn 1984
RESULTS WITH TELOMERIC DNA THAT COULD NOT BE READILY EXPLAINED BY THEN-CURRENT
MODELS FOR DNA REPLICATION
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•AND……. •Barbara McClintock had noted a maize mutant stock that had lost the normal capacity for broken maize chromosome ends to heal early on plant development.B. McClintock, personal comm. 1983
Was a new enzyme at work in cells that could extend telomeric DNA?
RESULTS WITH TELOMERIC DNA THAT COULD NOT BE READILY EXPLAINED BY THEN-CURRENT
MODELS FOR DNA REPLICATION
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T TG T GTGG G GG GT GTGG G
DISCOVERY OF TELOMERASE
Tetrahymena cell extractMg++dGTP + TTP
5’ 3’ OH
SYNTHETIC TELOMERE IN TEST TUBE
Greider and Blackburn, 1985
T TG T GTGG G GG GT GTGG G G T GTGG G G
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GGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGCCCCAACCC
5'3' AACCCCAAC
5'
3'
The solution to telomere attritionTelomerase: a telomere-synthesizing reverse
transcriptase
ChromosomeTerminus
GGGTTG
Greider and Blackburn, 1985, 1987, 1989
TERTprotein
TERRNA
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Blackburn lab members and friends at UC Berkeley 1986
Ed Orias
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TELOMERASE RNA gene
A vector based on Tetrahymena rDNA replication properties
Yu et al, 1990
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GGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGCCCCAACCC
5'3' AACCCCAAC
5'
3'
The solution to telomere attritionTelomerase: a telomere-synthesizing reverse
transcriptase
ChromosomeTerminus
TERTprotein
TERRNA
GC C C
Yu et al, Nature 1990
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How do Tetrahymena
cells respond when telomerase is
nonfunctional?Guo-Liang YuJohn BradleyLaura Attardi
Yu et al, Nature 1990
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GGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGCCCCAACCC
5'3' AACCCCAAC
5'
3'
The solution to telomere attritionTelomerase: a telomere-synthesizing reverse
transcriptase
ChromosomeTerminus
GGGTTG
Greider and Blackburn, 1985, 1987, 1989
TERTprotein
TERRNA
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GGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGCCCCAACCC
5'3' AACCCCAAC
5'
3'
A telomerase RNA mutant unable to copy the template
ChromosomeTerminus
Yu et al, 1990; Gilley et al, 1996
TERTprotein
TERRNA
UA STOP
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cell d
ivisio
ns
Telomeres provide a reservoir of replenishable DNA
No Senescence
Telomeres replenished by telomerase
Tetrahymena thermophila
Plenty of telomerase
Yu et al, Nature 1990
Geneticallykill telomerase
Telomeres progressively shorten
Tetrahymena ceased divisions They become “mortal”
Cells are immortal
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cell
divi
sion
s
After a delay, senescence
Predicted, if DNA replication alone acts on DNA:Loss of DNA from the chromosome end(the DNA ‘end-replication problem’)
Watson, 1972, Olovnikov, 1971
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cell
divi
sion
s
Eventual senescence
Lack of functional telomerase:Progressive loss of DNA from the chromosome end
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cell
divi
sion
s
No SenescenceTelomeres replenished by telomerase
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Immortal
Yu et al, Nature 1990
“Mortal”
Inactivate telomerase
Tetrahymena thermophila
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How did Tetrahymena
cells respond when telomerase is
forced to make the wrong DNA sequence?Guo-Liang YuJohn BradleyLaura Attardi
Yu et al, Nature 1990
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GGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGGGGTTGCCCCAACCC
5'3' AACCCCAAC
5'
3'
Telomerase: a telomere-synthesizing reverse transcriptase: the sequence matters
ChromosomeTerminus
Ye at al, 1990; John Bradley unpubl.
TERTprotein
TERRNA
GCC CC
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Tetrahymena thermophila WILD TYPE
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Tetrahymena thermophila mutant-sequence telomeres
Cells rapidly lost viability!
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Telomeres cap ends of chromosomes
Part of an ancient Greeksarcophagus
Pergamonmuseum, Berlin
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McEachern and Blackburn. Nature, 1995.
elomerase
elomere dynamics: a homeostatic system
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In humans?In cancer cells
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HIGH telomerase characterizes malignant human cancer cells
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cell
divi
sion
s
Cells keep dividing
HIGH telomerase characterizes malignant human cancer cells
Cancer-promoting
Context: in cancer cells
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GTTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGCAATCCC
5'3'
ChromosomeTerminus
ProteinTERT
RNATER
CAAUCCCAAUC
5'
3'
Human Telomerase
Exploiting the high telomerase of cancer cells to make toxic telomeric DNA
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GTTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGGCAATCCC
5'3'
ChromosomeTerminus
RNATER
5'
3'
CAAUCCCAAAAUC
Mutant-templateKim et al., 2001
Exploiting the high telomerase of cancer cells to make toxic telomeric DNA
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RNATER
5'
3'
GGGTTAGGGTTTTAG
GTTAGGGTTTTAGGGTTTTAGGCAAUCCCAAAAUC
Mutant-templateKim et al., 2001
Exploiting the high telomerase of cancer cells to make toxic telomeric DNA
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Telomeric Complex
• Telomeric DNA • Telomeric sequence-specific binding proteins
Exploiting the high telomerase of cancer cells to make toxic telomeric DNA
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Rapid fusions of telomeres uncapped by mutant template telomerase RNA
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WT-telomerase RNA mutant-template telomerase
Mutant telomerase RNA in human bladder cancer (LNCaP) cells
- note cell death
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What have we learned from forcing telomerase misfunction in human cancer cells?
Altering the telomeric DNA sequence• Rapid fusions cause genomic disaster• Independent of:
• p53, pRb (all mutant sequences tested)• ATM or NHEJ (for certain mutant sequences)
Li et al, 2004; Brad Stohr, Lifeng Xu
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Mutant TelomeraseWe are turning the high telomerase activity of tumor cells back onto the cells to cause cell death.Current: in vivo delivery to treat tumors in model systems.
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In normal cellsin humans?
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Immortal
Yu et al, Nature 1990
“Mortal”
Inactivate telomerase
Tetrahymena thermophila
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cell
divi
sion
s
Telomeres replenished by telomerase
Cells keep dividing
- Active: stem cells, germ cells- Detectable: many normal adult cell types (quantifiable activity)- Highly active: ~90% of human tumors
In humans
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cell
divi
sion
s
Cells keep dividing
Plenty of telomerase:
Addition and shortening stay balanced
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cell
divi
sion
s
Cells keep dividing
Upregulated telomerase in humans:telomeres grow in vivo
Weng, Granger and Hodes, 1997
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Slower net loss/cell divisionce
ll di
visi
ons
senescence comes later
Predicted, if some telomerase:Slow loss of DNA from chromosome ends
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Faster net loss/cell division
cell
divi
sion
s
Senescence sooner
Predicted, if less telomerase:Faster loss of DNA from chromosome ends
- genetic- genetic- environment/life factors
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Telomerase -known genetic defects in telomerase genes cause disease
risk in mice* and humans**
Telomerase
Telomerelength
maintenance
Reduces ability of cellsto replenish
Disease impact
*Greider, DePinho groups and others ** Dokal group and others
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ChronicStress
Disease impact
Chronic psychological stress -a known non-genetic determinant of human disease risk
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Chronic psychological stress and telomeres
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PBM
C te
lom
eras
e ac
tivity
/10
,000
cel
ls
M = .053, SE = .016 M = .092, SE = .016p < .045
The lowest and highest stress quartiles of the whole sample are compared.
Epel et al, 2004, PNAS
Caregiver mothers and chronic stress
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
High stress Low stress0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
High stress Low stress
Aver
age
t/s ra
tio
Low stressHigh stressPB
MC
Tel
omer
e le
ngth
Telomerase activity was ~ 50% lower in high stress
group
controlling for age and body mass index: F(3,27) = 12.8, p < .001
Telomeres were shorter in high stress group (equiv.
9 - 17 yrs of extra “aging”)
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Stressor Duration and Telomere lengthStudy 1: Caregiver mothers and chronic stress
0 2 4 6 8 10 12Number of years of care-giving
PB
MC
Tel
omer
e le
ngth
Epel et al, 2004, PNAS
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The more years the mothers had been in this objective stressor situation, the lower* were their PBMC telomere length and telomerase
*after correcting for all other available factors
Study 1: Caregiver mothers and chronic stress
Epel et al, 2004, PNAS
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Chronic Stress
Telomerase
TelomereLength
We and others have replicated these findingsin independent studies
Epel et al (2004; 2006; 2008;unpubl.)
Chronic stress - reduces PBMC telomere length maintenance
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4 6 8 10 12 14
Dispostional Pessimism
4000
4500
5000
5500
6000
6500
7000
Tel
omer
e Le
ngth
(ba
se p
airs
)
W
W
W
W
W
W
WW
W
W
W
W
W
WW
W
W
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W
Figure 1. Association between dispositional pessimism and telomere length in post-menopausal women (r = -.55, p = .001; n = 36). This association appears independent of age, dispositional optimism, perceived stress, neuroticism, and health behaviors.The relationship still remained excluding the one participant in the upper left quadrant, who was not a statistical outlier but who exhibited the longest mean TL(r = -.53, p = .001).
PESSIMISM, INFLAMMATION AND CELL AGING PESSIMISM, INFLAMMATION AND CELL AGING Study 2: Post-menopausal women: Pessimism and
shorter PBMC telomeres
P < .001
O’Donovan, A., Lin, J., Wolkowitz, O., Dhabhar, F.S., Tillie, J.M., Blackburn, E., and Epel, E. Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 2008
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“Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a little older.”
-Hans Selye
A SOBERING THOUGHT..
Chronic stress - reduces PBMC telomere length maintenance
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Signal input
Signal Integration andprocessing
??Disease impact
Chronic life stress wears down telomeres
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Major common diseases of aging have been linked to
shorter telomeres
(many independent studies)
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Telomerase mutations and diseases
Cancer risk Vulliamy, T. et al. (2001)Risques et al; Joshua et al., Shen et al (2007)
Pulmonary fibrosis Armanios, M. et al. (2007) Cardiovascular disease Brouilette, S. et al. (2003)(plaques, heart attacks, Benetos, A. et al. (2004)calcificoric aortic valve stenosis) Kurz, D. J. et al. (2006)
Starr et al (2007)Brouilette et al (2007)
Vascular dementia von Zglinicki, T. et al. (2000)
Degenerative conditions(osteoarthritis, osteoporosis) Zhai, G., et al. (2006)
Valdes, A. M. et al. (2007)Diabetes Valdes, A. M. et al. (2005)
Aviv, A. et al. (2006)General risk factors for chronic disease Gardner, J. P. et al. (2005)
- obesity and insulin resistance
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Telomere shortness links to common disease states
Cancer Vulliamy, T. et al. (2001)Risques et al; Joshua et al., Shen et al (2007)
Pulmonary fibrosis Armanios, M. et al. (2007)
Cardiovascular disease Brouilette, S. et al. (2003)(plaques, heart attacks, Benetos, A. et al. (2004)calcificoric aortic valve stenosis) Kurz, D. J. et al. (2006)
Starr et al (2007)Brouilette et al (2007)
Vascular dementia von Zglinicki, T. et al. (2000)
Degenerative conditions(osteoarthritis, osteoporosis) Zhai, G., et al. (2006)
Valdes, A. M. et al. (2007)Diabetes Valdes, A. M. et al. (2005)
Aviv, A. et al. (2006)General risk factors for chronic disease Gardner, J. P. et al. (2005)
- obesity and insulin resistance
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DYNAMICS OF CHANGE?- LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
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The Dogma was…..
• Telomeres shorten over time, unidirectionally – Based entirely on cross sectional studies
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The new findings• Telomeres lengthened in ~1/4th of adults during 2.5 years
MacArthur Aging Study
Epel et al. Aging 2009
05
101520253035404550
Percent
ShorterSameLonger
This opens the door for identifying malleable determinants of rate of change!
Also: Nordfjäll K et al. PLoS Genet. 2009Farzaneh-Far R, et al. PLOS One, in press.
%
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RATE of loss of telomere length predicts cardiovascular disease death in elderly men
Those with telomere shortening (dashed line) over the initial 2.5 year period had 3.0 times greater likelihood of death over the 12 years since the baseline blood draw, compared to those without telomere shortening (solid line).
Epel et al, 2009
Pro
porti
on s
urvi
ving
0 2 4 6 8 10 12Time (years since baseline blood draw)
1.0
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
Telomeresgrew/same
Telomeresshortened
MacArthur Aging Study
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Telomere length and telomerase: Biomarkers or causal mechanisms for aging-related disease
GeneticEnvironmental Life histories/behavioral
Telomeraseactivity
Telomerelength
Risk for aging-related diseases
CancerMental disorder Cardiovascular diseasePoor immune function
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The journey…
From basic biological research on the molecular nature of telomeres and their maintenance mechanisms….
to…..
human life stories and their effects on telomere maintenance….
to….
in turn, the impact of telomeres on health and disease
SUMMARYCorrect telomere maintenance is crucial
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“SumarianBee Goddessestending a telomere”
Julie Newdoll, 2008
WITH THANKS TO THE MANYWONDERFUL COLLEAGUES WHO,
OVER THE YEARS, HAVEATTENDED TO TELOMERES WITH ME
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