The perpetual proliferation of cancer cells requires a means to maintain telomere length. Alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) is a poorly understood mechanism of telomere maintenance that is utilized by approximately 15% of human cancers. Induction of telomere specific DNA damage in ALT cells results in rapid directional movement of telomeres over micron distances in the nucleus. Telomere mobility is driven by a specialized homology searching mechanism that enables a damaged telomere to use another telomere on a different chromosome as a template for repair.
(Photo Credit: Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania)