title: Functional endogenous LINE-1 retrotransposons are expressed and mobilized in rat chloroleukemia cells.
abstract: LINE-1 (L1) is a highly successful autonomous non-LTR retrotransposon and a major force shaping mammalian genomes. Although there are about 600 000 L1 copies covering 23% of the rat genome, full-length rat L1s (L1Rn) with intact open reading frames (ORFs) representing functional master copies for retrotransposition have not been identified yet. In conjunction with studies to elucidate the role of L1 retrotransposons in tumorigenesis, we isolated and characterized 10 different cDNAs from transcribed full-length L1Rn elements in rat chloroleukemia (RCL) cells, each encoding intact ORF1 proteins (ORF1p). We identified the first functional L1Rn retrotransposon from this pool of cDNAs, determined its activity in HeLa cells and in the RCL cell line the cDNAs originated from and demonstrate that it is mobilized in the tumor cell line in which it is expressed. Furthermore, we generated monoclonal antibodies directed against L1Rn ORF1 and ORF2-encoded recombinant proteins, analyzed the expression of L1-encoded proteins and found ORF1p predominantly in the nucleus. Our results support the hypothesis that the reported explosive amplification of genomic L1Rn sequences after their transcriptional activation in RCL cells is based on L1 retrotransposition. Therefore, L1 activity might be one cause for genomic instability observed during the progression of leukemia.
authors: Max-Planck-Institut für Zellbiologie, Rosenhof, D-68526 Ladenburg, Germany.
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Kirilyuk
authors: Genrich V
authors: GV
authors: Tolstonog
authors: Annette
authors: A
authors: Damert
authors: Ulrike
authors: U
authors: Held
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Hahn
authors: Roswitha
authors: R
authors: Löwer
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Buschmann
authors: Axel V
authors: AV
authors: Horn
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Traub
authors: Gerald G
authors: GG
authors: Schumann
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000737:chemistry; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000737:chemistry; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007942:Leukemia, Experimental / Q000235:genetics*; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D026723:Polyadenylation; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011506:Proteins