Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41166495›Full record

ArticleScience (New York, N.Y.)2025

Human RPA is an essential telomerase processivity factor for maintaining telomeres.

Sourav Agrawal, Xiuhua Lin, Vivek Susvirkar, Michael S O'Connor, Bianca L Chavez, Victoria R Tholkes, Grace P Tauber, Qixiang He, Kaitlyn M Abe, Xuhui Huang and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science (New York, N.Y.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. How telomere attrition protects against cancer.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026
    Review
  3. Fission yeast RPA-TERT-Tpz1bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Whole exome sequencing identified two novel mutations ofFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Sourav Agrawal *Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9841-5279
Xiuhua Lin *Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7021-9874
Vivek Susvirkar *Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0009-0006-1188-6339
Michael S O'ConnorDepartment of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3551-7248
Bianca L ChavezDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3648-7546
Victoria R TholkesDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0009-0006-3017-883X
Grace P TauberDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0009-0006-9838-826X
Qixiang HeDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0738-679X
Kaitlyn M AbeDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6055-5604
Xuhui HuangDepartment of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7119-9358
Ci Ji LimDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI , USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3327-1926

Funding

Unraveling the Telomere Black Box: A New Single-Molecule Approach to Define the Telomere Chromatin Landscape and its Functional MechanismsDP2GM150023 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI LIM, CI JI · 2022 to 2025
$2.3M
Predoctoral Training in Molecular BiophysicsT32GM130550 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI SENES, ALESSANDRO · 2019 to 2023
$1.5M
Mechanism of the Human Telomere C-Strand Fill-In Machinery Assembly and Activation at Chromosome EndsR01GM153806 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Ci Ji Lim · 2024 to 2026
$933k
ACQUISITION OF MASS SPECTROMETER FOR CORE FACILITYS10RR013790 · NCRR · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON · PI RAINES, RONALD T · 1999 to 1999
–
NCRR NIH HHS S10 RR013790NIGMS NIH HHS DP2 GM150023NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM153806NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM130550
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Telomerase counteracts telomere shortening by repeatedly adding DNA repeats to chromosome ends. We identified the replication protein A (RPA) heterotrimer as a telomerase processivity factor critical for telomere maintenance. RPA stimulates telomerase processivity in vitro, and AlphaFold modeling predicts that RPA engages a telomerase surface distinct from the one bound by the shelterin subunit TPP1. Guided by these predictions, we engineered separation-of-function telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) mutants and found that the loss of RPA-mediated stimulation impairs telomere elongation, even when TPP1-POT1-mediated stimulation remains intact. Furthermore, short-telomere disease-associated TERT mutations reduce RPA-dependent telomerase stimulation, revealing a mechanistic link between impaired processivity and telomeropathies. Together, our findings establish human RPA as a key regulator of telomerase and offer molecular insights into telomere-related disease mechanisms.

Indexed as

Replication Protein ATelomeraseTelomereTelomere HomeostasisHumansMutationShelterin ComplexTelomere-Binding ProteinsACD protein, humanPOT1 protein, humanReplication Protein ARPA1 protein, humanShelterin ComplexTelomeraseTelomere-Binding ProteinsTERT protein, human

Identifiers

PMID41166495
PMCPMC12640109

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.