Journal article

Telomere sequence content can be used to determine ALT activity in tumours

M Lee, ET Teber, O Holmes, K Nones, AM Patch, RA Dagg, LMS Lau, JH Lee, CE Napier, JW Arthur, SM Grimmond, NK Hayward, PA Johansson, GJ Mann, RA Scolyer, JS Wilmott, RR Reddel, JV Pearson, N Waddell, HA Pickett

Nucleic Acids Research | OXFORD UNIV PRESS | Published : 2018

Open access

Abstract

The replicative immortality of human cancer cells is achieved by activation of a telomere maintenance mechanism (TMM). To achieve this, cancer cells utilise either the enzyme telomerase, or the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway. These distinct molecular pathways are incompletely understood with respect to activation and propagation, as well as their associations with clinical outcomes. We have identified significant differences in the telomere repeat composition of tumours that use ALT compared to tumours that do not. We then employed a machine learning approach to stratify tumours according to telomere repeat content with an accuracy of 91.6%. Importantly, this classificati..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Children’s Medical Research Institute


Funding Acknowledgements

Melanoma Institute Australia; Bioplatforms Australia; New South Wales Ministry of Health; Australian Cancer Research Foundation; National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy; Cancer Council NSW [RG 14-16 and RG 16-09 to H.A.P.]; National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [1051897 to H.A.P. and R.R.R.; 1093017 to G.J.M., N.K.H. and R.A.S.; fellowships to L.M.S.L., N.K.H., N.W., R.A.S. and J.S.W.]; Cancer Institute NSW [fellowships to H.A.P. and L.M.S.L.]; Kids Cancer Alliance [top-up scholarships to R.A.D. and M.L.]; Harry Banks Sutherland Rotary PhD scholarship to R.A.D.; Australia Postgraduate Award to M.L. Funding for open access charge: Children's Medical Research Institute.