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Schneider BK, Sun S, Lee M, Li W, Skvir N, Neretti N, Vijg J, Secombe J. Expression of retrotransposons contributes to aging in Drosophila. Genetics 2023; 224:iyad073. [PMID: 37084379 PMCID: PMC10213499 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Retrotransposons are a class of transposable elements capable of self-replication and insertion into new genomic locations. Across species, the mobilization of retrotransposons in somatic cells has been suggested to contribute to the cell and tissue functional decline that occurs during aging. Retrotransposons are broadly expressed across cell types, and de novo insertions have been observed to correlate with tumorigenesis. However, the extent to which new retrotransposon insertions occur during normal aging and their effect on cellular and animal function remains understudied. Here, we use a single nucleus whole genome sequencing approach in Drosophila to directly test whether transposon insertions increase with age in somatic cells. Analyses of nuclei from thoraces and indirect flight muscles using a newly developed pipeline, Retrofind, revealed no significant increase in the number of transposon insertions with age. Despite this, reducing the expression of two different retrotransposons, 412 and Roo, extended lifespan, but did not alter indicators of health such as stress resistance. This suggests a key role for transposon expression and not insertion in regulating longevity. Transcriptomic analyses revealed similar changes to gene expression in 412 and Roo knockdown flies and highlighted changes to genes involved in proteolysis and immune function as potential contributors to the observed changes in longevity. Combined, our data show a clear link between retrotransposon expression and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blair K Schneider
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Ullmann 809 Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Shixiang Sun
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1301 Morris Park Ave., Price 468 Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Moonsook Lee
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1301 Morris Park Ave., Price 468 Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Wenge Li
- Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Ullmann 909 Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Nicholas Skvir
- Department of Molecular biology, Cell biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, 70 Ship St., Providence 02903, USA
| | - Nicola Neretti
- Department of Molecular biology, Cell biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, 70 Ship St., Providence 02903, USA
| | - Jan Vijg
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1301 Morris Park Ave., Price 468 Bronx, NY 10461, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Julie Secombe
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Ullmann 809 Bronx, NY 10461, USA
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
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Yushkova E, Moskalev A. Transposable elements and their role in aging. Ageing Res Rev 2023; 86:101881. [PMID: 36773759 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.101881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are an important part of eukaryotic genomes. The role of somatic transposition in aging, carcinogenesis, and other age-related diseases has been determined. This review discusses the fundamental properties of TEs and their complex interactions with cellular processes, which are crucial for understanding the diverse effects of their activity on the genetics and epigenetics of the organism. The interactions of TEs with recombination, replication, repair, and chromosomal regulation; the ability of TEs to maintain a balance between their own activity and repression, the involvement of TEs in the creation of new or alternative genes, the expression of coding/non-coding RNA, and the role in DNA damage and modification of regulatory networks are reviewed. The contribution of the derepressed TEs to age-dependent effects in individual cells/tissues in different organisms was assessed. Conflicting information about TE activity under stress as well as theories of aging mechanisms related to TEs is discussed. On the one hand, transposition activity in response to stressors can lead to organisms acquiring adaptive innovations of great importance for evolution at the population level. On the other hand, the TE expression can cause decreased longevity and stress tolerance at the individual level. The specific features of TE effects on aging processes in germline and soma and the ways of their regulation in cells are highlighted. Recent results considering somatic mutations in normal human and animal tissues are indicated, with the emphasis on their possible functional consequences. In the context of aging, the correlation between somatic TE activation and age-related changes in the number of proteins required for heterochromatin maintenance and longevity regulation was analyzed. One of the original features of this review is a discussion of not only effects based on the TEs insertions and the associated consequences for the germline cell dynamics and somatic genome, but also the differences between transposon- and retrotransposon-mediated structural genome changes and possible phenotypic characteristics associated with aging and various age-related pathologies. Based on the analysis of published data, a hypothesis about the influence of the species-specific features of number, composition, and distribution of TEs on aging dynamics of different animal genomes was formulated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Yushkova
- Laboratory of Geroprotective and Radioprotective Technologies, Institute of Biology, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 28 Kommunisticheskaya st., 167982 Syktyvkar, Russian Federation
| | - Alexey Moskalev
- Laboratory of Geroprotective and Radioprotective Technologies, Institute of Biology, Komi Science Center, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 28 Kommunisticheskaya st., 167982 Syktyvkar, Russian Federation; Laboratory of Genetics and Epigenetics of Aging, Russian Clinical Research Center for Gerontology, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow 129226, Russian Federation; Longaevus Technologies, London, UK.
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Halim MA, Tan FHP, Azlan A, Rasyid II, Rosli N, Shamsuddin S, Azzam G. Ageing, Drosophila melanogaster and Epigenetics. Malays J Med Sci 2020; 27:7-19. [PMID: 32684802 PMCID: PMC7337951 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.3.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Ageing is a phenomenon where the accumulation of all the stresses that alter the functions of living organisms, halter them from maintaining their physiological balance and eventually lead to death. The emergence of epigenetic tremendously contributed to the knowledge of ageing. Epigenetic changes in cells or tissues like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation, modification of histone proteins, transcriptional modification and also the involvement of non-coding DNA has been documented to be associated with ageing. In order to study ageing, scientists have taken advantage of several potential organisms to aid them in their study. Drosophila melanogaster has been an essential model in establishing current understanding of the mechanism of ageing as they possess several advantages over other competitors like having homologues to more than 75% of human disease genes, having 50% of Drosophila genes are homologues to human genes and most importantly they are genetically amenable. Here, we would like to summarise the extant knowledge about ageing and epigenetic process and the role of Drosophila as an ideal model to study epigenetics in association with ageing process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mardani Abdul Halim
- USM-RIKEN International Centre for Ageing Science (URICAS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.,School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Florence Hui Ping Tan
- USM-RIKEN International Centre for Ageing Science (URICAS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.,School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Azali Azlan
- USM-RIKEN International Centre for Ageing Science (URICAS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.,School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Ian Ilham Rasyid
- School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Nurlina Rosli
- School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
| | - Shaharum Shamsuddin
- USM-RIKEN International Centre for Ageing Science (URICAS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.,School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia
| | - Ghows Azzam
- USM-RIKEN International Centre for Ageing Science (URICAS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.,School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
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Sturm Á, Ivics Z, Vellai T. The mechanism of ageing: primary role of transposable elements in genome disintegration. Cell Mol Life Sci 2015; 72:1839-47. [PMID: 25837999 PMCID: PMC11113528 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-015-1896-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2014] [Revised: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/25/2015] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the molecular basis of ageing remains a fundamental problem in biology. In multicellular organisms, while the soma undergoes a progressive deterioration over the lifespan, the germ line is essentially immortal as it interconnects the subsequent generations. Genomic instability in somatic cells increases with age, and accumulating evidence indicates that the disintegration of somatic genomes is accompanied by the mobilisation of transposable elements (TEs) that, when mobilised, can be mutagenic by disrupting coding or regulatory sequences. In contrast, TEs are effectively silenced in the germ line by the Piwi-piRNA system. Here, we propose that TE repression transmits the persistent proliferation capacity and the non-ageing phenotype (e.g., preservation of genomic integrity) of the germ line. The Piwi-piRNA pathway also operates in tumorous cells and in somatic cells of certain organisms, including hydras, which likewise exhibit immortality. However, in somatic cells lacking the Piwi-piRNA pathway, gradual chromatin decondensation increasingly allows the mobilisation of TEs as the organism ages. This can explain why the mortality rate rises exponentially throughout the adult life in most animal species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ádám Sturm
- Department of Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Ivics
- Division of Medical Biotechnology, Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225 Langen, Germany
| | - Tibor Vellai
- Department of Genetics, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
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Woodruff RC, Nikitin AG. P DNA element movement in somatic cells reduces lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster: evidence in support of the somatic mutation theory of aging. Mutat Res 1995; 338:35-42. [PMID: 7565880 DOI: 10.1016/0921-8734(95)00009-u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that P DNA element movement in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster induces genetic damage that significantly reduces lifespan. The lifespan of D. melanogaster males was significantly reduced by the somatic movement of a single P element in the presence of P[ry+ delta 2-3](99B) transposase. In addition, the P[ry+ SalI](89D) repressor of P[ry+ delta 2-3](99B) somatic transposase was observed to reduce the effect of P element movement on lifespan. Finally, the frequency of somatic-cell chromosome breakage was significantly increased in neuroblasts of males with somatically active P elements. These results show that lifespan in D. melanogaster is decreased with increased somatic genetic damage from DNA-element movement. Although this conclusion does not confirm that transposable element movement is a cause of natural senescence, this conclusion is clear evidence in support of a close relationship between somatic genetic damage and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- R C Woodruff
- Department of Bioligical Sciences, Bowling Green State University, OH 43403, USA
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Nikitin AG, Woodruff RC. Somatic movement of the mariner transposable element and lifespan of Drosophila species. Mutat Res 1995; 338:43-9. [PMID: 7565881 DOI: 10.1016/0921-8734(95)00010-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
The effect of somatic movement of the mariner transposable element on lifespan was measured in Drosophila simulans and Drosophila melanogaster males at 25 degrees C. In D. simulans this movement significantly decreased lifespan, whereas in D. melanogaster no correlation between transposon movement and lifespan was found. The results in D. simulans support the hypothesis that somatic genetic damage induced by DNA element movement can reduce lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- A G Nikitin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University, OH 43403, USA
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