Telomere shortening is associated with over-expression of subtelomeric genesin thyroid tumors.

To determine whether telomere shortening in thyroid tumors delineates gene expression of subtelomeric regions, we performed RNA sequencing in a set of tumors (n = 15) and compare gene expression profiles of subtelomeric and non-subtelomeric genes between short telomere tumors and normal telomere tumors. We defined as subtelomeric genes, those located within the 5 megabase windows (Mb) adjacent to the telomeres. Fifteen thyroid tumors comprising 10 tumors with short telomere telomeres and 5 tumors with telomere length within the range of normal thyroid tissues were included in the study. Telomere length was measured by Q-FISH.