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Hosseiniporgham S, Sechi LA. Anti-HERV-K Drugs and Vaccines, Possible Therapies against Tumors. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11040751. [PMID: 37112663 PMCID: PMC10144246 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11040751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The footprint of human endogenous retroviruses (HERV), specifically HERV-K, has been found in malignancies, such as melanoma, teratocarcinoma, osteosarcoma, breast cancer, lymphoma, and ovary and prostate cancers. HERV-K is characterized as the most biologically active HERV due to possession of open reading frames (ORF) for all Gag, Pol, and Env genes, which enables it to be more infective and obstructive towards specific cell lines and other exogenous viruses, respectively. Some factors might contribute to carcinogenicity and at least one of them has been recognized in various tumors, including overexpression/methylation of long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE-1), HERV-K Gag, and Env genes themselves plus their transcripts and protein products, and HERV-K reverse transcriptase (RT). Therapies effective for HERV-K-associated tumors mostly target invasive autoimmune responses or growth of tumors through suppression of HERV-K Gag or Env protein and RT. To design new therapeutic options, more studies are needed to better understand whether HERV-K and its products (Gag/Env transcripts and HERV-K proteins/RT) are the initiators of tumor formation or just the disorder’s developers. Accordingly, this review aims to present evidence that highlights the association between HERV-K and tumorigenicity and introduces some of the available or potential therapies against HERV-K-induced tumors.
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2
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Repetitive Sequence Transcription in Breast Cancer. Cells 2022; 11:cells11162522. [PMID: 36010599 PMCID: PMC9406339 DOI: 10.3390/cells11162522] [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: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Repetitive sequences represent about half of the human genome. They are actively transcribed and play a role during development and in epigenetic regulation. The altered activity of repetitive sequences can lead to genomic instability and they can contribute to the establishment or the progression of degenerative diseases and cancer transformation. In this work, we analyzed the expression profiles of DNA repetitive sequences in the breast cancer specimens of the HMUCC cohort. Satellite expression is generally upregulated in breast cancers, with specific families upregulated per histotype: in HER2-enriched cancers, they are the human satellite II (HSATII), in luminal A and B, they are part of the ALR family and in triple-negative, they are part of SAR and GSAT families, together with a perturbation in the transcription from endogenous retroviruses and their LTR sequences. We report that the background expression of repetitive sequences in healthy tissues of cancer patients differs from the tissues of non-cancerous controls. To conclude, peculiar patterns of expression of repetitive sequences are reported in each specimen, especially in the case of transcripts arising from satellite repeats.
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3
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Kim WR, Park EG, Lee HE, Park SJ, Huh JW, Kim JN, Kim HS. Hsa-miR-422a Originated from Short Interspersed Nuclear Element Increases ARID5B Expression by Collaborating with NF-E2. Mol Cells 2022; 45:465-478. [PMID: 35444070 PMCID: PMC9260135 DOI: 10.14348/molcells.2022.2158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate the expression of target messenger RNA (mRNA) complementary to the 3' untranslated region (UTR) at the post-transcriptional level. Hsa-miR-422a, which is commonly known as miRNA derived from transposable element (MDTE), was derived from short interspersed nuclear element (SINE). Through expression analysis, hsa-miR-422a was found to be highly expressed in both the small intestine and liver of crab-eating monkey. AT-Rich Interaction Domain 5 B (ARID5B) was selected as the target gene of hsa-miR-422a, which has two binding sites in both the exon and 3'UTR of ARID5B. To identify the interaction between hsa-miR-422a and ARID5B, a dual luciferase assay was conducted in HepG2 cell line. The luciferase activity of cells treated with the hsa-miR-422a mimic was upregulated and inversely downregulated when both the hsa-miR-422a mimic and inhibitor were administered. Nuclear factor erythroid-2 (NF-E2) was selected as the core transcription factor (TF) via feed forward loop analysis. The luciferase expression was downregulated when both the hsa-miR-422a mimic and siRNA of NF-E2 were treated, compared to the treatment of the hsa-miR-422a mimic alone. The present study suggests that hsa-miR-422a derived from SINE could bind to the exon region as well as the 3'UTR of ARID5B. Additionally, hsa-miR-422a was found to share binding sites in ARID5Bwith several TFs, including NF-E2. The hsa-miR-422a might thus interact with TF to regulate the expression of ARID5B, as demonstrated experimentally. Altogether, hsa-miR-422a acts as a super enhancer miRNA of ARID5Bby collaborating with TF and NF-E2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woo Ryung Kim
- Department of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
- Institute of Systems Biology, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
| | - Eun Gyung Park
- Department of Integrated Biological Science, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
- Institute of Systems Biology, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
| | - Hee-Eun Lee
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju 28199, Korea
| | - Sang-Je Park
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju 28199, Korea
| | - Jae-Won Huh
- National Primate Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Cheongju 28199, Korea
- Department of Functional Genomics, KRIBB School of Bioscience, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
| | - Jeong Nam Kim
- Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
| | - Heui-Soo Kim
- Institute of Systems Biology, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea
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4
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Teresi SJ, Teresi MB, Edger PP. TE Density: a tool to investigate the biology of transposable elements. Mob DNA 2022; 13:11. [PMID: 35413944 PMCID: PMC9004194 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-022-00264-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transposable elements (TEs) are powerful creators of genotypic and phenotypic diversity due to their inherent mutagenic capabilities and in this way they serve as a deep reservoir of sequences for genomic variation. As agents of genetic disruption, a TE's potential to impact phenotype is partially a factor of its location in the genome. Previous research has shown TEs' ability to impact the expression of neighboring genes, however our understanding of this trend is hampered by the exceptional amount of diversity in the TE world, and a lack of publicly available computational methods that quantify the presence of TEs relative to genes. RESULTS Here, we have developed a tool to more easily quantify TE presence relative to genes through the use of only a gene and TE annotation, yielding a new metric we call TE Density. Briefly defined as the proportion of TE-occupied base-pairs relative to a window-size of the genome. This new pipeline reports TE density for each gene in the genome, for each type descriptor of TE (order and superfamily), and for multiple positions and distances relative to the gene (upstream, intragenic, and downstream) over sliding, user-defined windows. In this way, we overcome previous limitations to the study of TE-gene relationships by focusing on all TE types present in the genome, utilizing flexible genomic distances for measurement, and reporting a TE presence metric for every gene in the genome. CONCLUSIONS Together, this new tool opens up new avenues for studying TE-gene relationships, genome architecture, comparative genomics, and the tremendous diversity present of the TE world. TE Density is open-source and freely available at: https://github.com/sjteresi/TE_Density .
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott J Teresi
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
- Genetics and Genome Sciences Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | | | - Patrick P Edger
- Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
- Genetics and Genome Sciences Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
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5
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Transposable Elements and Human Diseases: Mechanisms and Implication in the Response to Environmental Pollutants. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23052551. [PMID: 35269693 PMCID: PMC8910135 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23052551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are recognized as major players in genome plasticity and evolution. The high abundance of TEs in the human genome, especially the Alu and Long Interspersed Nuclear Element-1 (LINE-1) repeats, makes them responsible for the molecular origin of several diseases. This involves several molecular mechanisms that are presented in this review: insertional mutation, DNA recombination and chromosomal rearrangements, modification of gene expression, as well as alteration of epigenetic regulations. This literature review also presents some of the more recent and/or more classical examples of human diseases in which TEs are involved. Whether through insertion of LINE-1 or Alu elements that cause chromosomal rearrangements, or through epigenetic modifications, TEs are widely implicated in the origin of human cancers. Many other human diseases can have a molecular origin in TE-mediated chromosomal recombination or alteration of gene structure and/or expression. These diseases are very diverse and include hemoglobinopathies, metabolic and neurological diseases, and common diseases. Moreover, TEs can also have an impact on aging. Finally, the exposure of individuals to stresses and environmental contaminants seems to have a non-negligible impact on the epigenetic derepression and mobility of TEs, which can lead to the development of diseases. Thus, improving our knowledge of TEs may lead to new potential diagnostic markers of diseases.
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6
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Wang C, Liang C. The insertion and dysregulation of transposable elements in osteosarcoma and their association with patient event-free survival. Sci Rep 2022; 12:377. [PMID: 35013466 PMCID: PMC8748539 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04208-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The dysregulation of transposable elements (TEs) has been explored in a variety of cancers. However, TE activities in osteosarcoma (OS) have not been extensively studied yet. By integrative analysis of RNA-seq, whole-genome sequencing (WGS), and methylation data, we showed aberrant TE activities associated with dysregulations of TEs in OS tumors. Specifically, expression levels of LINE-1 and Alu of different evolutionary ages, as well as subfamilies of SVA and HERV-K, were significantly up-regulated in OS tumors, accompanied by enhanced DNA repair responses. We verified the characteristics of LINE-1 mediated TE insertions, including target site duplication (TSD) length (centered around 15 bp) and preferential insertions into intergenic and AT-rich regions as well as intronic regions of longer genes. By filtering polymorphic TE insertions reported in 1000 genome project (1KGP), besides 148 tumor-specific somatic TE insertions, we found most OS patient-specific TE insertions (3175 out of 3326) are germline insertions, which are associated with genes involved in neuronal processes or with transcription factors important for cancer development. In addition to 68 TE-affected cancer genes, we found recurrent germline TE insertions in 72 non-cancer genes with high frequencies among patients. We also found that +/− 500 bps flanking regions of transcription start sites (TSS) of LINE-1 (young) and Alu showed lower methylation levels in OS tumor samples than controls. Interestingly, by incorporating patient clinical data and focusing on TE activities in OS tumors, our data analysis suggested that higher TE insertions in OS tumors are associated with a longer event-free survival time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Wang
- Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056, USA.
| | - Chun Liang
- Department of Biology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, 45056, USA.
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7
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Bowles H, Kabiljo R, Al Khleifat A, Jones A, Quinn JP, Dobson RJB, Swanson CM, Al-Chalabi A, Iacoangeli A. An assessment of bioinformatics tools for the detection of human endogenous retroviral insertions in short-read genome sequencing data. FRONTIERS IN BIOINFORMATICS 2022; 2:1062328. [PMID: 36845320 PMCID: PMC9945273 DOI: 10.3389/fbinf.2022.1062328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
There is a growing interest in the study of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) given the substantial body of evidence that implicates them in many human diseases. Although their genomic characterization presents numerous technical challenges, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has shown potential to detect HERV insertions and their polymorphisms in humans. Currently, a number of computational tools to detect them in short-read NGS data exist. In order to design optimal analysis pipelines, an independent evaluation of the available tools is required. We evaluated the performance of a set of such tools using a variety of experimental designs and datasets. These included 50 human short-read whole-genome sequencing samples, matching long and short-read sequencing data, and simulated short-read NGS data. Our results highlight a great performance variability of the tools across the datasets and suggest that different tools might be suitable for different study designs. However, specialized tools designed to detect exclusively human endogenous retroviruses consistently outperformed generalist tools that detect a wider range of transposable elements. We suggest that, if sufficient computing resources are available, using multiple HERV detection tools to obtain a consensus set of insertion loci may be ideal. Furthermore, given that the false positive discovery rate of the tools varied between 8% and 55% across tools and datasets, we recommend the wet lab validation of predicted insertions if DNA samples are available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Bowles
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
| | - Renata Kabiljo
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ahmad Al Khleifat
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ashley Jones
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
| | - John P. Quinn
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Richard J. B. Dobson
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
| | - Chad M. Swanson
- Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ammar Al-Chalabi
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Neurology, King’s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alfredo Iacoangeli
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, London, United Kingdom
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Alfredo Iacoangeli,
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8
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Cardelli M, Doorn RV, Larcher L, Donato MD, Piacenza F, Pierpaoli E, Giacconi R, Malavolta M, Rachakonda S, Gruis NA, Molven A, Andresen PA, Pjanova D, van den Oord JJ, Provinciali M, Nagore E, Kumar R. Association of HERV-K and LINE-1 hypomethylation with reduced disease-free survival in melanoma patients. Epigenomics 2020; 12:1689-1706. [PMID: 33125285 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2020-0127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim: To evaluate CpG methylation of long interspersed nuclear elements 1 (LINE-1) and human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) retroelements as potential prognostic biomarkers in cutaneous melanoma. Materials & methods: Methylation of HERV-K and LINE-1 retroelements was assessed in resected melanoma tissues from 82 patients ranging in age from 14 to 88 years. In addition, nevi from eight patients were included for comparison with nonmalignant melanocytic lesions. Results: Methylation levels were lower in melanomas than in nevi. HERV-K and LINE-1 methylation were decreased in melanoma patients with clinical parameters associated with adverse prognosis, while they were independent of age and gender. Hypomethylation of HERV-K (but not LINE-1) was an independent predictor of reduced disease-free survival. Conclusion: HERV-K hypomethylation can be a potential independent biomarker of melanoma recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurizio Cardelli
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Remco van Doorn
- Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Lares Larcher
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Michela Di Donato
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Francesco Piacenza
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Elisa Pierpaoli
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Robertina Giacconi
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Marco Malavolta
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Sivaramakrishna Rachakonda
- Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Functional Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nelleke A Gruis
- Department of Dermatology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300RC Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Anders Molven
- Gade Laboratory for Pathology, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway.,Department of Pathology, Haukeland University Hospital, N-5021 Bergen, Norway
| | - Per Arne Andresen
- Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, 0424 Oslo, Norway
| | - Dace Pjanova
- Latvian Biomedical Research & Study Centre, LV-1067 Riga, Latvia
| | | | - Mauro Provinciali
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, 60121 Ancona, Italy
| | - Eduardo Nagore
- Department of Dermatology, Instituto Valenciano de Oncología, 46009 València, Spain
| | - Rajiv Kumar
- Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Functional Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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9
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Marasca F, Gasparotto E, Polimeni B, Vadalà R, Ranzani V, Bodega B. The Sophisticated Transcriptional Response Governed by Transposable Elements in Human Health and Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21093201. [PMID: 32366056 PMCID: PMC7247572 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21093201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs), which cover ~45% of the human genome, although firstly considered as “selfish” DNA, are nowadays recognized as driving forces in eukaryotic genome evolution. This capability resides in generating a plethora of sophisticated RNA regulatory networks that influence the cell type specific transcriptome in health and disease. Indeed, TEs are transcribed and their RNAs mediate multi-layered transcriptional regulatory functions in cellular identity establishment, but also in the regulation of cellular plasticity and adaptability to environmental cues, as occurs in the immune response. Moreover, TEs transcriptional deregulation also evolved to promote pathogenesis, as in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and cancers. Importantly, many of these findings have been achieved through the employment of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies and bioinformatic tools that are in continuous improvement to overcome the limitations of analyzing TEs sequences. However, they are highly homologous, and their annotation is still ambiguous. Here, we will review some of the most recent findings, questions and improvements to study at high resolution this intriguing portion of the human genome in health and diseases, opening the scenario to novel therapeutic opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Marasca
- Fondazione INGM, Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare “Enrica e Romeo Invernizzi”, 20122 Milan, Italy; (F.M.); (E.G.); (B.P.); (R.V.); (V.R.)
| | - Erica Gasparotto
- Fondazione INGM, Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare “Enrica e Romeo Invernizzi”, 20122 Milan, Italy; (F.M.); (E.G.); (B.P.); (R.V.); (V.R.)
| | - Benedetto Polimeni
- Fondazione INGM, Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare “Enrica e Romeo Invernizzi”, 20122 Milan, Italy; (F.M.); (E.G.); (B.P.); (R.V.); (V.R.)
| | - Rebecca Vadalà
- Fondazione INGM, Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare “Enrica e Romeo Invernizzi”, 20122 Milan, Italy; (F.M.); (E.G.); (B.P.); (R.V.); (V.R.)
- Translational and Molecular Medicine, DIMET, University of Milan-Bicocca, 20900 Monza, Italy
| | - Valeria Ranzani
- Fondazione INGM, Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare “Enrica e Romeo Invernizzi”, 20122 Milan, Italy; (F.M.); (E.G.); (B.P.); (R.V.); (V.R.)
| | - Beatrice Bodega
- Fondazione INGM, Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare “Enrica e Romeo Invernizzi”, 20122 Milan, Italy; (F.M.); (E.G.); (B.P.); (R.V.); (V.R.)
- Correspondence:
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10
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Clayton EA, Rishishwar L, Huang TC, Gulati S, Ban D, McDonald JF, Jordan IK. An atlas of transposable element-derived alternative splicing in cancer. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190342. [PMID: 32075558 PMCID: PMC7061986 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Transposable element (TE)-derived sequences comprise more than half of the human genome, and their presence has been documented to alter gene expression in a number of different ways, including the generation of alternatively spliced transcript isoforms. Alternative splicing has been associated with tumorigenesis for a number of different cancers. The objective of this study was to broadly characterize the role of human TEs in generating alternatively spliced transcript isoforms in cancer. To do so, we screened for the presence of TE-derived sequences co-located with alternative splice sites that are differentially used in normal versus cancer tissues. We analysed a comprehensive set of alternative splice variants characterized for 614 matched normal-tumour tissue pairs across 13 cancer types, resulting in the discovery of 4820 TE-generated alternative splice events distributed among 723 cancer-associated genes. Short interspersed nuclear elements (Alu) and long interspersed nuclear elements (L1) were found to contribute the majority of TE-generated alternative splice sites in cancer genes. A number of cancer-associated genes, including MYH11, WHSC1 and CANT1, were shown to have overexpressed TE-derived isoforms across a range of cancer types. TE-derived isoforms were also linked to cancer-specific fusion transcripts, suggesting a novel mechanism for the generation of transcriptome diversity via trans-splicing mediated by dispersed TE repeats. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Crossroads between transposons and gene regulation'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan A. Clayton
- Integrated Cancer Research Center, School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Lavanya Rishishwar
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- PanAmerican Bioinformatics Institute, Cali, Colombia
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tzu-Chuan Huang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Saurabh Gulati
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Dongjo Ban
- Integrated Cancer Research Center, School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - John F. McDonald
- Integrated Cancer Research Center, School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - I. King Jordan
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
- PanAmerican Bioinformatics Institute, Cali, Colombia
- Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, Atlanta, GA, USA
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11
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Arroyo M, Bautista R, Larrosa R, Cobo MÁ, Claros MG. Biomarker potential of repetitive-element transcriptome in lung cancer. PeerJ 2019; 7:e8277. [PMID: 31875158 PMCID: PMC6925957 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Since repetitive elements (REs) account for nearly 53% of the human genome, profiling its transcription after an oncogenic change might help in the search for new biomarkers. Lung cancer was selected as target since it is the most frequent cause of cancer death. A bioinformatic workflow based on well-established bioinformatic tools (such as RepEnrich, RepBase, SAMTools, edgeR and DESeq2) has been developed to identify differentially expressed RNAs from REs. It was trained and tested with public RNA-seq data from matched sequencing of tumour and healthy lung tissues from the same patient to reveal differential expression within the RE transcriptome. Healthy lung tissues express a specific set of REs whose expression, after an oncogenic process, is strictly and specifically changed. Discrete sets of differentially expressed REs were found for lung adenocarcinoma, for small-cell lung cancer, and for both cancers. Differential expression affects more HERV-than LINE-derived REs and seems biased towards down-regulation in cancer cells. REs behaving consistently in all patients were tested in a different patient cohort to validate the proposed biomarkers. Down-regulation of AluYg6 and LTR18B was confirmed as potential lung cancer biomarkers, while up-regulation of HERVK11D-Int is specific for lung adenocarcinoma and up-regulation of UCON88 is specific for small cell lung cancer. Hence, the study of RE transcriptome might be considered another research target in cancer, making REs a promising source of lung cancer biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Macarena Arroyo
- U.G.C. Médico-Quirúrgica de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.,Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Rocío Bautista
- Andalusian Platform for Bioinformatics-SCBI, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Rafael Larrosa
- Andalusian Platform for Bioinformatics-SCBI, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.,Department of Computer Architecture, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - Manuel Ángel Cobo
- Area of Oncology and Rare Diseases (IBIMA), Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
| | - M Gonzalo Claros
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.,Andalusian Platform for Bioinformatics-SCBI, Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain.,Area of Oncology and Rare Diseases (IBIMA), Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
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12
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Transposable element expression in tumors is associated with immune infiltration and increased antigenicity. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5228. [PMID: 31745090 PMCID: PMC6864081 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13035-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Profound global loss of DNA methylation is a hallmark of many cancers. One potential consequence of this is the reactivation of transposable elements (TEs) which could stimulate the immune system via cell-intrinsic antiviral responses. Here, we develop REdiscoverTE, a computational method for quantifying genome-wide TE expression in RNA sequencing data. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas database, we observe increased expression of over 400 TE subfamilies, of which 262 appear to result from a proximal loss of DNA methylation. The most recurrent TEs are among the evolutionarily youngest in the genome, predominantly expressed from intergenic loci, and associated with antiviral or DNA damage responses. Treatment of glioblastoma cells with a demethylation agent results in both increased TE expression and de novo presentation of TE-derived peptides on MHC class I molecules. Therapeutic reactivation of tumor-specific TEs may synergize with immunotherapy by inducing inflammation and the display of potentially immunogenic neoantigens. Treatment with demethylation agents can reactivate transposable elements. Here in glioblastoma, the authors also show that this is accompanied by de novo presentation of TE-derived peptides on MHC class I molecules.
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13
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Colombo AR, Triche T, Ramsingh G. Transposable Element Expression in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Transcriptome and Prognosis. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16449. [PMID: 30401833 PMCID: PMC6219593 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-34189-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Over half of the human genome is comprised of transposable elements (TE). Despite large-scale studies of the transcriptome in cancer, a comprehensive look at TE expression and its relationship to various mutations or prognosis has not been performed. We characterized the expression of TE in 178 adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients using transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. We characterized mutation specific dysregulation of TE expression using a multivariate linear model. We identified distinct patterns of TE expression associated with specific mutations and transcriptional networks. Genes regulating methylation was not associated with significant change in TE expression. Using an unpenalized cox regression analysis we identified a TE expression signature that predicted prognosis in AML. We identified 14 candidate prognostic TE transcripts (TEP) that classified AML as high/low-risk and this was independent of mutation-based and coding-gene expression based risk-stratification. TEP was able to predict prognosis in independent cohorts of 284 pediatric AML patients and 19 relapsed adult AML patients. This first comprehensive study of TE expression in AML demonstrates that TE expression can serve as a biomarker for prognosis in AML, and provides novel insights into the biology of AML. Studies characterizing its role in other cancers are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony R Colombo
- Jane Anne Nohl Division of Division of Hematology and Center for the Study of Blood Diseases, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 90033, USA
| | - Timothy Triche
- Center for Epigenetics, Van Andel Research Institute, 333 Bostwick Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, USA.
| | - Giridharan Ramsingh
- Jane Anne Nohl Division of Division of Hematology and Center for the Study of Blood Diseases, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 90033, USA.
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14
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Transposable element dysregulation in systemic lupus erythematosus and regulation by histone conformation and Hsp90. Clin Immunol 2018; 197:6-18. [PMID: 30149120 DOI: 10.1016/j.clim.2018.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) represents an autoimmune disease in which activation of the type I interferon pathway leads to dysregulation of tolerance and the generation of autoantibodies directed against nuclear constituents. The mechanisms driving the activation of the interferon pathway in SLE have been the subject of intense investigation but are still incompletely understood. Transposable elements represent an enormous source of RNA that could potentially stimulate the cell intrinsic RNA-recognition pathway, leading to upregulation of interferons. We used RNA-seq to define transposable element families and subfamilies in three cell types in SLE and found diverse effects on transposable element expression in the three cell types and even within a given family of transposable elements. When potential mechanisms were examined, we found that Hsp90 inhibition could drive increased expression of multiple type of transposable elements. Both direct inhibition and the delivery of a heat shock itself, which redirects heat shock regulators (including Hsp90) off of basal expression promoters and onto heat shock-responsive promoters, led to increased transposable element expression. This effect was amplified by the concurrent delivery of a histone deacetylase inhibitor. We conclude that transposable elements are dysregulated in SLE and there are tissue-specific effects and locus-specific effects. The magnitude of RNAs attributable to transposable elements makes their dysregulation of critical interest in SLE where transposable element RNA complexed with proteins has been shown to drive interferon expression.
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15
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Fagnocchi L, Poli V, Zippo A. Enhancer reprogramming in tumor progression: a new route towards cancer cell plasticity. Cell Mol Life Sci 2018; 75:2537-2555. [PMID: 29691590 PMCID: PMC11105402 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-018-2820-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2017] [Revised: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Cancer heterogeneity arises during tumor progression as a consequence of genetic insults, environmental cues, and reversible changes in the epigenetic state, favoring tumor cell plasticity. The role of enhancer reprogramming is emerging as a relevant field in cancer biology as it supports adaptation of cancer cells to those environmental changes encountered during tumor progression and metastasis seeding. In this review, we describe the cancer-related alterations that drive oncogenic enhancer activity, leading to dysregulated transcriptional programs. We discuss the molecular mechanisms of both cis- and trans-factors in overriding the regulatory circuits that maintain cell-type specificity and imposing an alternative, de-regulated enhancer activity in cancer cells. We further comment on the increasing evidence which implicates stress response and aging-signaling pathways in the enhancer landscape reprogramming during tumorigenesis. Finally, we focus on the potential therapeutic implications of these enhancer-mediated subverted transcriptional programs, putting particular emphasis on the lack of information regarding tumor progression and the metastatic outgrowth, which still remain the major cause of mortality related to cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Fagnocchi
- Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics, Center for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, 38123, Trento, Italy.
| | - Vittoria Poli
- Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics, Center for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, 38123, Trento, Italy
| | - Alessio Zippo
- Laboratory of Chromatin Biology and Epigenetics, Center for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, 38123, Trento, Italy.
- Department of Epigenetics, Fondazione Istituto Nazionale di Genetica Molecolare "Romeo ed Enrica Invernizzi", Via F. Sforza 35, 20122, Milan, Italy.
- Division of Pathology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
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16
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Identification of transposable elements fused in the exonic region of the olive flounder genome. Genes Genomics 2018; 40:707-713. [PMID: 29934806 DOI: 10.1007/s13258-018-0676-2] [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: 12/03/2017] [Accepted: 02/26/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile genetic sequences that comprise a large portion of vertebrate genomes. The olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) is a valuable marine resource in East Asia. The scope of most genomic studies on the olive flounder is limited to its immunology as their focus is the prevention of mass mortality of this species. Thus, for a broader understanding of the species, its genomic information is consistently in demand. Transcripts sequences were acquired from transcriptome analysis using gill tissues of 12 olive flounders. Distribution of TEs inserted in exonic region of the olive flounder genome was analyzed using RepeatMasker ( http://www.repeatmasker.org/ ). We found 1140 TEs in the exonic region of the genome and long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and long terminal repeats (LTRs) insertions occurred with forward orientation preferences. Transposons belonging to the hAt, Gypsy, and LINE 1 (L1) subfamilies were the most abundant DNA transposons, LTRs, and long interspersed elements (LINEs), respectively. Finally, we carried out a gene ontology analysis to determine the function of TE-fused genes. These results provide some genomic information about TEs that is useful for future research on changes in properties and functions of genes by TEs in the olive flounder genome.
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17
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Cardelli M. The epigenetic alterations of endogenous retroelements in aging. Mech Ageing Dev 2018; 174:30-46. [PMID: 29458070 DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 02/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Endogenous retroelements, transposons that mobilize through RNA intermediates, include some of the most abundant repetitive sequences of the human genome, such as Alu and LINE-1 sequences, and human endogenous retroviruses. Recent discoveries demonstrate that these mobile genetic elements not only act as intragenomic parasites, but also exert regulatory roles in living cells. The risk of genomic instability represented by endogenous retroelements is normally counteracted by a series of epigenetic control mechanisms which include, among the most important, CpG DNA methylation. Indeed, most of the genomic CpG sites subjected to DNA methylation in the nuclear DNA are carried by these repetitive elements. As other parts of the genome, endogenous retroelements and other transposable elements are subjected to deep epigenetic alterations during aging, repeatedly observed in the context of organismal and cellular senescence, in human and other species. This review summarizes the current status of knowledge about the epigenetic alterations occurring in this large, non-genic portion of the genome in aging and age-related conditions, with a focus on the causes and the possible functional consequences of these alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurizio Cardelli
- Advanced Technology Center for Aging Research, Scientific Technological Area, Italian National Research Center on Aging (INRCA), via Birarelli 8, 60121 Ancona, Italy.
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18
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Wang L, Norris ET, Jordan IK. Human Retrotransposon Insertion Polymorphisms Are Associated with Health and Disease via Gene Regulatory Phenotypes. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1418. [PMID: 28824558 PMCID: PMC5539088 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The human genome hosts several active families of transposable elements (TEs), including the Alu, LINE-1, and SVA retrotransposons that are mobilized via reverse transcription of RNA intermediates. We evaluated how insertion polymorphisms generated by human retrotransposon activity may be related to common health and disease phenotypes that have been previously interrogated through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). To address this question, we performed a genome-wide screen for retrotransposon polymorphism disease associations that are linked to TE induced gene regulatory changes. Our screen first identified polymorphic retrotransposon insertions found in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with single nucleotide polymorphisms that were previously associated with common complex diseases by GWAS. We further narrowed this set of candidate disease associated retrotransposon polymorphisms by identifying insertions that are located within tissue-specific enhancer elements. We then performed expression quantitative trait loci analysis on the remaining set of candidates in order to identify polymorphic retrotransposon insertions that are associated with gene expression changes in B-cells of the human immune system. This progressive and stringent screen yielded a list of six retrotransposon insertions as the strongest candidates for TE polymorphisms that lead to disease via enhancer-mediated changes in gene regulation. For example, we found an SVA insertion within a cell-type specific enhancer located in the second intron of the B4GALT1 gene. B4GALT1 encodes a glycosyltransferase that functions in the glycosylation of the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody in such a way as to convert its activity from pro- to anti-inflammatory. The disruption of the B4GALT1 enhancer by the SVA insertion is associated with down-regulation of the gene in B-cells, which would serve to keep the IgG molecule in a pro-inflammatory state. Consistent with this idea, the B4GALT1 enhancer SVA insertion is linked to a genomic region implicated by GWAS in both inflammatory conditions and autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn’s disease. We explore this example and the other cases uncovered by our genome-wide screen in an effort to illuminate how retrotransposon insertion polymorphisms can impact human health and disease by causing changes in gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Wang
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, United States.,PanAmerican Bioinformatics InstituteCali, Colombia.,Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, AtlantaGA, United States
| | - Emily T Norris
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, United States.,PanAmerican Bioinformatics InstituteCali, Colombia.,Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, AtlantaGA, United States
| | - I K Jordan
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, United States.,PanAmerican Bioinformatics InstituteCali, Colombia.,Applied Bioinformatics Laboratory, AtlantaGA, United States
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