Altered Nucleotide Insertion Mechanisms of Disease-Associated TERT Variants

Telomere biology disorders (TBDs) are a spectrum of diseases that arise from mutations in genes responsible for maintaining telomere integrity. Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) adds nucleotides to chromosome ends and is frequently mutated in individuals with TBDs. Previous studies have provided insight into how relative changes in hTERT activity can lead to pathological outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms describing how disease-associated variants alter the physicochemical steps of nucleotide insertion remain poorly understood. To address this, we applied single-turnover kinetics and computer simulations to the Tribolium castaneum TERT (tcTERT) model system and characterized the nucleotide insertion mechanisms of six disease-associated variants. Each variant had distinct consequences on tcTERT’s nucleotide insertion mechanism, including changes in nucleotide binding affinity, rates of catalysis, or ribonucleotide selectivity. Our computer simulations provide insight into how each variant disrupts active site organization, such as suboptimal positioning of active site residues, destabilization of the DNA 3′ terminus, or changes in nucleotide sugar pucker. Collectively, this work provides a holistic characterization of the nucleotide insertion mechanisms for multiple disease-associated TERT variants and identifies additional functions of key active site residues during nucleotide insertion.