Molecular and functional characterization of alpha satellite non coding RNAs

Eukaryotic cell cycle progression requires the coordination of multiple molecular events in space and time to bring about proper transition from one phase to the next, and to ensure faithful genomic inheritance to daughter cells. The roles of coding transcription, translation, and RNA/protein degradation in cell cycle regulation are straightforward, since they control the abundance of proteins necessary for its progression. However, the contribution of non-coding transcription to this process is poorly understood. Non-coding transcription is notoriously interesting in mitosis for two reasons: First, transcription is repressed in most of the genome, but it is active in the centromere itself during mitosis; second, centromeric transcription produces non-coding RNA molecules which are integral components of the centromere and kinetochore and have functional roles in chromosome segregation. Here, we characterized the centromeric human alpha satellite non-coding RNAs (cencRNAs). We detected that the centromere produces high-molecular-weight (g 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4422.