Research Paper Volume 14, Issue 17 pp 7126—7136

Zbtb34 promotes embryonic stem cell proliferation by elongating telomere length

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Figure 6. The mechanism for Zbtb34 to regulate telomere length. When the expression of Zbtb34 is more than that of Pot1b, Zbtb34 prevents Pot1b from binding to telomere DNA, which increases the opportunity for telomerase to access telomere DNA. The telomerase adds DNA repeats (TTAGGG)n to the 3′-ends of telomeres. When the expression of Pot1b is more than that of Zbtb34, Pot1b inhibits telomerase recruitment to telomeres, resulting in telomere shortening with cell division.