TERRA: an induced responder to telomere dysfunction.

TERRA abundance is stress-responsive at dysfunctional telomeres, and transient induction with R-loops promotes homology-directed telomere elongation in telomerase-negative cells.

• Why it matters: Telomere dysfunction must be managed to preserve chromosome ends, but how cells switch between repair and elimination is unclear.
• What they did: The work synthesizes evidence across yeasts and mammals linking TERRA changes to shelterin, chromatin regulators, DNA repair factors, and controlled RNA:DNA hybrid (R-loop) formation.
• The result: In telomerase-negative cells, transient TERRA and R-loops promote homology-directed elongation, while unresolved damage with sustained TERRA and R-loops is linked to senescence, inflammatory signaling, and crisis-associated cell death.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.